SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Prosecutors have expanded their investigation. case New charges filed earlier this month against members of a small polygamous group living near the Utah-Arizona border detail sexual contacts between its leader and the children he took as his wife. .

grand jury charged Sam Bateman It documented child sexual abuse in a recently filed superseding indictment and added new charges to charges filed last year for kidnapping and obstructing an investigation. Documents dated May 18 show that Bateman, with the help of his followers, took a wife at the young age of nine in an effort to start a splinter group of the fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ. It reveals new details about how the network was built. of Latter-day Saints.

A call to one of Bateman’s lawyers for comment on the matter was not immediately answered on Thursday.

The FLDS itself is historically an offshoot of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in the border towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah. The cult is known for its leader Warren Jeffs serving a life sentence in federal prison in Texas. Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream church, popularly known as Mormonism, which abandoned the practice in his 1890s and now strictly prohibits it.

The indictment adds to the numerous charges filed against Bateman in state and federal courts last year. In December, federal prosecutors indicted Bateman and several of his wives on charges of kidnapping a minor and obstructing a foreseeable prosecution for fleeing girls associated with the group from an orphanage in Arizona. . FBI affidavit published As part of the case, Bateman alleged in December that he had more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18. He detailed Bateman’s sexual involvement with a minor, but the latest indictment expands those charges and is the first time Bateman has been charged with such a crime. act.

Bateman allegedly traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had regular sexual relations with underage girls. He also charged Bateman with recording parts of the sexual act, alleging that some of the images may have been transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.

The report found that Bateman, relying on diaries, notebooks and text messages, had sexual contact with a group of believers in a hotel room, including one that began with a “foot-wash” inspired by religious rituals. said to have started. He went back and forth between male followers and his wife.

The indictment also alleges that Bateman “encouraged and trained minors to participate in sexual acts.” Among them were girls so young that they got angry when they wet their beds. “You’re mine,” the defendant told girls under the age of 10, while the indictment said the girl, aged 9 or 10, found sexual contact “absolutely terrifying.”

The indictment also alleges that several members (both men and women) denied abuse allegations involving their own children during interrogation by the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Bateman was arrested last year and remains in federal custody pending trial. It is scheduled March 5, 2024. he used to begged Not guilty to state and federal charges of kidnapping, child abuse, and tampering with evidence.

Bateman is scheduled to appear in court in Phoenix on Friday.

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Associated Press reporter Walt Berry contributed to the report from Phoenix.

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