Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader, was convicted in Arizona on state child abuse charges. The charges stem from a 2022 traffic stop where authorities found three girls locked inside an unventilated trailer.
Background
Bateman is already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence in a child sex abuse case. He was found guilty on three counts of child abuse after a Coconino County jury deliberated for about 40 minutes.
The case centered on an August 2022 incident in Flagstaff, where police stopped Bateman after a witness reported seeing children’s fingers reaching through gaps in the doors of a trailer he was towing. Officers found three girls, then ages 11 to 14, inside the unventilated trailer.
Prosecutors said Bateman knowingly endangered the girls by hauling them for hours in hot conditions inside a trailer meant for cargo, not passengers. Bateman represented himself at trial and denied intending to hurt anyone.
Related Convictions
Bateman’s federal conviction in a broader abuse and kidnapping conspiracy case drew wider public attention. Federal prosecutors accused him of using his status as a self-proclaimed prophet to coerce girls, some as young as 9, into sex acts with him and others.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
