PHOENIX — A polygamous sect leader and 10 of his followers were indicted last week by a federal grand jury on charges related to child pornography and collecting “wives,” including underage girls. – For leaders.
Samuel Lappery Bateman, 47, of Colorado, Arizona, had already been on trial for kidnapping and tampering with a community on the Utah-Arizona border.
In a second alternate indictment, Bateman is now linked to a multi-state conspiracy to travel across state lines to win a wife, according to Arizona federal attorney’s office documents. It is said that he is facing additional charges against him.
Related: Arizona Polygamist Leader Contacts Teenage Girls From Prison, Prosecutors Say
“To claim these ‘wives’ (10 of whom were under the age of 18), Bateman traveled extensively between Nebraska, Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. Throughout the conspiracy, Bateman had regular sex with underage girls,” the attorney’s office said.
The second indictment, which takes precedence, also charges Bateman with child pornography, and in late November 2020, “Bateman was found in a hotel room in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where his followers, including an underage girl, were arrested. and coordinated collective sexual acts with some of the
Related: Body camera video shows arrest of suspected Flagstaff polygamous leader
Bateman was later charged with coordinating a video call with a congregation in Colorado, in which video participants, including minors, were naked, according to the attorney’s office. Producing child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison for him and a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison for him.
In December, a federal grand jury returned the first replacement indictment, adding charges against Bateman and adding three more co-conspirators.
Bateman and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The mainstream faith, popularly known as the Mormon Church, abandoned the practice in his 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.
Bateman lived in Colorado City, an isolated community along the Arizona-Utah border where polygamy was openly practiced for many years.
Related: Arizona man charged with girl found in sealed trailer
He was first arrested in August when someone found a small finger in the cracks of the trailer he was towing in Flagstaff, Arizona. Police found three girls aged between 11 and 14 in a makeshift room inside an unventilated trailer.
Since his arrest last September, prosecutors have alleged Bateman had sexually explicit conversations with several boys and girls in an Arizona prison.
One of these girls was the victim of a state child abuse case involving Bateman, according to records.
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