Phoenix (CN) – A man who used his strength to marry as a religious leader in a small Arizona town and repeatedly raped 10 minor girls for nearly two years, spends the next 50 in federal prisons.

The young woman, once victim of Samuel Rappily Bateman, turned to him in a Phoenix courtroom Monday afternoon.

“I will never forgive you what you did to me,” one former child bride told Bateman. “I hope you have everything in life that is worthy of you. This is absolutely nothing.”

Bateman launched a series of sex crimes in Colorado, Arizona in 2019, eight years after Warren Jeffs’ arrest and life sentence left a vacuum of power in sleep and Latter-day Saints’ Church of Jesus Christ. After declaring to himself a new prophet of a religious denomination, a derivative of the major Mormon church, Bateman gathered at least 20 wives between 2019 and 2022.

Each of the 10 children’s brides testified against two of Bateman’s male followers at a trial in September, with Bateman and others forced them daily. Three of the survivors returned to the same court to see the mastermind of retaliation in the face of abuse.

“A 14-year-old should not have to experience the harm you inflicted on me,” the first girl said. “But I’m your boss now. And you can’t control me anymore.”

Another survivor said that due to post-traumatic stress disorder, which she developed from two years of life with Bateman, she is currently struggling to maintain a relationship between a man and a boy, especially in the courtroom. He spoke to.

“As a kid, I had no way of understanding what was going on,” she said. “I was taken away from the usual experiences that other kids have.”

Despite the trauma she endured, she refused to beat Bateman.

“Sam, you don’t have any more strength for me,” she said. “I hope you will feel all the pain you caused me while sitting on your phone.”

Police arrested Bateman on child risk charges in August 2022 after the driver noticed a child’s hand sticking out of a box brought from a pickup truck near Flagstaff, Arizona. From the Coconino County Jail, Bateman removes innocent messages from his cell phone to his adult wife and followers, hides physical evidence, and “rescue” Bateman’s child bride from the Arizona Department of Children’s Services I ordered.

Like some of his adult wives, Bateman pleaded guilty to two counts: conspiracy to transport minors for sexual activity and conspiracy to commit a donation.

US District Judge Susan Brnowic has shown more mercy to the female defendants as women with FLDs usually hold little power and are in charge of the man’s responsibility. Those women were forced to be excommunicated and enduringly harmed after life.

“They followed your orders, so you turned some of them into felons,” the Donald Trump appointee told Bateman. “The amount of harm you caused is unmeasurable. You are the one who made yourself a prophet and used it to sacrifice these women.”

To reduce Bateman’s sentence, defense attorney Brian Russo said Bateman grew up like a female victim.

“Mr. Bateman believed in what he was doing, Russo told Brnowic. “He realised it was wrong, but he still believed it.”

Russo compared to Josephine Bistline, Bateman’s adult wife who helped him gather the brides. She was sentenced to prison in August, but Bateman’s minimum proposed sentence was 20 years.

While Bistrine took part in sex only once, Bateman raped her daily, making federal prosecutor Dimitra Sampson called unparalleled. She said 50 years was the “only appropriate sentence.”

Sampson played three video clips in court to showcase Bateman’s character, including Bateman surrounded by his wife who looked like a living room, saying, “One of these girls wanted to marry me.” I’m saying that.

“I have never felt that this is right for the victim,” Sampson repeated. “He can’t control them anymore.”

Brnovich called Russo’s arguments immobilised and agreed to give Bateman the harshest sentence.

“There shouldn’t be a chance to be free,” she told Bateman. She allocated a fine of $7,200.

At the end of his prison sentence, Bateman, now 49, will spend the rest of his life on supervised release.

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