Victims Freed From Sam Bateman: 50-Year Sentence and Co-Defendants

Samuel Rappylee Bateman, the self-proclaimed FLDS prophet convicted of running a child sexual abuse ring in the border communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah, was sentenced to 50 years in federal prison on December 9, 2024, followed by lifetime supervised release. He was 48 at sentencing. A separate Arizona state jury convicted him of three counts of child abuse in June 2026 for the trailer incident that led to his original arrest. All nine of his underage “wives” were removed from the group after his arrest, placed in foster care, and testified against him in court.¹

What Bateman Pleaded Guilty To

On April 1, 2024, Bateman pleaded guilty to two federal counts: conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The second count arose from a November 2022 scheme Bateman directed from jail, in which his adult followers kidnapped eight of his child brides from Arizona state protective custody and transported them to California and then to an Airbnb in Spokane, Washington, before law enforcement located them.¹

Under the plea agreement, the remaining counts from a 52-count indictment were dismissed. The deal was contingent on all of his co-defendants also pleading guilty, required Bateman to forfeit his assets immediately, and set restitution at up to $1 million per victim.²

U.S. District Judge Susan M. Brnovich imposed the 50-year sentence in Phoenix on December 9, 2024, with lifetime supervised release to follow.¹

The 2026 Arizona State Conviction

Already serving the federal sentence, Bateman went to trial in Arizona state court for the incident that first brought him to police attention. In late August 2022, state troopers stopped him on a Flagstaff highway after a passerby spotted small fingers reaching through a gap in the rear door of an enclosed trailer he was hauling. Inside the unventilated trailer were three girls, aged 11 to 14, along with a sofa, camping chairs, and a makeshift toilet.³

Bateman represented himself at the state trial, which opened on June 24, 2026. The judge barred any mention of his federal conviction, but Bateman repeatedly referenced it himself, forcing the court to strike his comments from the record. He described himself to jurors as a “kind and loving father” who does not “even spank my children,” testified “I would never harm the people I love,” and said of transporting the girls in the trailer, “I just trusted myself as a driver.”⁴ The prosecutor told jurors “it’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation.”⁵

On June 26, 2026, the jury convicted him on all three counts, one for each girl. Each count carries a mandatory four to eight years, and the judge has discretion to run the terms concurrently or consecutively. Sentencing was set for August 25, 2026.⁵

How the Case Came Together

Bateman had assumed authority over a faction of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in 2019, after Warren Jeffs’ imprisonment. By 2022 he had accumulated more than 20 wives, at least ten of them under eighteen, some as young as nine.⁶ Male followers surrendered their own wives and daughters to him, financed the operation, and in some cases participated in the abuse.

The evidence that put him in federal custody came largely from Christine Marie, a cult psychology researcher, and her husband Tolga Katas, a videographer, who spent years inside Bateman’s inner circle under the pretense of making a documentary. In late 2021, Marie recorded Bateman in a car admitting to crimes involving underage girls.⁷ Katas supplied the FBI with drone footage and property maps, and Marie became an FBI informant.⁸

Julia Johnson, whose four daughters Bateman had taken as wives in 2020 — two of them underage — contacted the FBI the day of the trailer-stop arrest. She later testified: “A woman does not have to follow her husband into Hell.”⁹ On September 13, 2022, Katas lured Bateman to a warehouse under the guise of a filming session so FBI agents could arrest him on the federal charges. The next day, seven girls were removed from Bateman’s home in Colorado City and two more from another residence.³

The Nine Girls Freed From Bateman

All nine of Bateman’s underage victims left the group after being removed from the community and placed in foster care. Filmmaker Rachel Dretzin, who directed the Netflix documentary about the case, has said that distance was what gave the young women room to “wake up” and separate from Bateman’s influence. All nine eventually testified against him.¹⁰

Ruth Johnson, one of the child brides, is now 20. She finished high school after Bateman’s arrest and has described her time with him as a period when she was exploited for her “naivete.” She is focused on personal growth and is writing a book.¹¹

What Happened to the Adult Wives

The adult followers split. Most of Bateman’s adult wives remain loyal and, according to Dretzin, continue to view him as their prophet and believe he has been “martyred.” Bateman keeps contact through daily phone calls from prison, which Christine Marie has described as an “IV of indoctrination.”¹⁰ Only two of the adult wives, Naomi “Nomz” Bistline and Moretta Johnson, testified against him.

For both of them, incarceration broke the hold. Moretta Johnson served a year after pleading guilty to concealing a felony tied to the kidnapping plot. “Prison set me free,” she said. She has since left the FLDS, married, and started a family. Nomz Bistline served time for conspiracy to tamper with an official proceeding and said the experience forced her to “start thinking for myself.” She renounced Bateman, still lives in Short Creek, and is pursuing music and modeling with support from Christine Marie and Tolga Katas.¹¹

Even after Bateman’s phone and video privileges were restricted to legal counsel only, federal prosecutors alleged he used another inmate’s PIN to place calls. Adult wives helped by creating new email addresses and obtaining new phone numbers; one used a newly created address to send him 33 messages in a single day before it was blocked.¹²

The Eleven Co-Defendants and Their Sentences

Bateman was charged alongside eleven adult followers. All eleven were convicted, nine by guilty plea and two at trial.

LaDell Jay Bistline Jr. delivered two of his own daughters to Bateman as child brides when they were nine and eleven, telling them they would “go against God” if they refused. A federal jury convicted him in October 2024 on eight counts, including receipt of child pornography, transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity, and using interstate commerce to coerce minors into sexual conduct. Judge Brnovich sentenced him to life in prison.¹³
Torrance Bistline, a businessman who financed Bateman’s operation with luxury vehicles and legal fees, was convicted after a 12-day trial on counts including using interstate commerce to persuade a minor to engage in sexual activity, tampering with evidence, and conspiracy. Trial evidence showed he personally raped one of Bateman’s teenage brides. Judge Brnovich sentenced him to 35 years, well above the roughly 11-year guideline range, citing the sentence he would have faced for rape under Arizona state law.¹⁴
Moroni Johnson gave four of his daughters, aged 10, 14, 17, and one of undisclosed age, to Bateman as “wives.” He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit trafficking of a minor for sexual purposes and received 25 years followed by lifetime supervision, beginning in May 2025.¹⁵
Josephine Bistline, an adult wife, was sentenced to 15 years followed by lifetime probation.¹⁶
Leilani Barlow received six years in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.¹⁷
Other wives, including Brenda Barlow and Donnae Barlow, received sentences from probation to three years, depending on their roles. Wives who had no children to give Bateman generally received two to three years.¹⁶

1
U.S. Department of Justice. Leader of Child Sexual Abuse Ring Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison
2
The Guardian. Polygamous Leader Samuel Bateman Sentencing
3
KNAU. Colorado City Man Charged After Girls Found in Trailer
4
People. Polygamist Sect Leader Sam Bateman Represents Himself at Trial
5
ABC News Australia. Samuel Bateman Convicted of Child Abuse Charges Arizona
6
BBC News. Samuel Bateman FLDS Cult Leader
7
Netflix Tudum. Trust Me: The False Prophet — Where Are They Now
8
Time. Trust Me: The False Prophet True Story
9
Courthouse News Service. Mother of Child Brides Testifies in Polygamist Child Sex Abuse Trial
10
Netflix Tudum. Trust Me: The False Prophet — Samuel Bateman
11
Oxygen. Trust Me: False Prophet — Where Are Samuel Bateman’s Wives Now
12
NBC News. Samuel Bateman Used Jail Phone to Inappropriately Communicate
13
U.S. Department of Justice. Colorado City Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Role in Child Sexual Abuse Ring
14
Courthouse News Service. Arizona Man Gets 35 Years for Role in Religious Sect’s Child Sex Abuse Ring
15
Metropolitan News-Enterprise. United States v. Johnson, Probation Condition Ruling
16
Courthouse News Service. Wife of Polygamist Mormon Leader Gets 15 Years for Child Sex Abuse
17
Tucson Sentinel. Polygamist Sentencing