Polygamous sect leader guilty of abuse after girls found in trailer on highway

A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges after girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona . Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman’s vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs. Bateman was convicted of coercing girls as young as nine to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody, the story of which is the focus of the Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet. Bateman previously claimed to have more than 20 “spiritual wives”, including 10 girls under the age of 18. He testified in his own defense, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. He acknowledged during cross-examination that he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and the ventilation was not good. “I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I ask God to bless me every time we hop in that vehicle.” He claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped. He said he was as “shocked as could possibly be” when he learned that they were still inside when he was pulled over. …