The Cult Dossier · No. 131 · Christian-Derived

Samuel Bateman's FLDS splinter

the Bateman group

c.2019 – 2022 · Colorado City, Arizona; Hildale, Utah; Nebraska

XII. THE WIDER FIELD — CONCISE ENTRIES

Fully religious — Mormon fundamentalist splinter

Who led it

SAMUEL BATEMAN (b. c.1976), a former FLDS member who declared himself a prophet around 2019, in the vacuum left by Warren Jeffs's imprisonment.

What it worshipped and taught

A direct continuation of FLDS plural-marriage doctrine with Bateman substituted as the living prophet receiving revelation. He took more than 20 'spiritual wives', at least ten of them children when the abuse began, the youngest aged nine, and directed followers to give him their wives and daughters. Followers surrendered their families on his instruction.

Who was in it

Samuel Bateman; Torrance Bistline and eight other convicted followers; the passer-by who reported the trailer; the nine children taken into Arizona state custody, several of whom later went missing from foster care.

How it ended, or where it stands

Destroyed by prosecution. Bateman is serving 50 federal years plus 24 state years; Wikipedia counts eleven followers convicted.

The dead

—

Of note

Added to this dossier in August 2026 after online verification surfaced it as a gap. Its significance is what it says about succession: Warren Jeffs's imprisonment did not end the FLDS pattern, it fragmented it, and a splinter reproduced the same abuse within seven years under a new prophet. The traffic stop is also a reminder that these cases are often caught by accident rather than by any system designed to catch them.

Its timeline

c.2019 Declares himself a prophet as the FLDS fragments after Jeffs's life sentence; families follow him.
AUGUST 2022 A passer-by in FLAGSTAFF, Arizona, sees SMALL FINGERS poking through the slats of a closed trailer towed by Bateman's pickup. Police stop it and find THREE GIRLS AGED 11 TO 14 inside, with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs, and no air conditioning or seat belts.
SEPTEMBER 2022 Arrested by the FBI. Children are taken into Arizona state custody; several later go missing from it, allegedly removed by his followers.
1 APRIL 2024 Pleads guilty to conspiracy to transport a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
9 DECEMBER 2024 SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON, with lifetime supervised release.
28 APRIL 2025 TORRANCE BISTLINE, convicted by a jury, is sentenced to 35 years, the last follower to be sentenced. Prosecutors say the conspiracy victimised at least ten children.
8 APRIL 2026 Netflix releases Trust Me: The False Prophet, a documentary series on the group.
JUNE 2026 Bateman is convicted on three state child abuse counts arising from the trailer.
25 AUGUST 2026 SENTENCED TO A FURTHER 24 YEARS on the state convictions, on top of the federal term.

Its people

Samuel Bateman

—

Self-proclaimed prophet, FLDS splinter group · born c.1976 · active c.2019–2022

A former FLDS member who declared himself a prophet around 2019 after Warren Jeffs's imprisonment left a vacuum, and drew away a small group of families. He took more than 20 'spiritual wives', at least ten of them children when the abuse began, the youngest nine. He was caught almost by accident: in August 2022 a passer-by in Flagstaff, Arizona, saw small fingers poking through the slats of a closed trailer towed by his pickup. Police found three girls aged 11 to 14 inside, with a makeshift toilet and no air conditioning or seat belts.

Before the law. PLEADED GUILTY in federal court; sentenced 9 December 2024 to 50 YEARS. Convicted on three state child abuse counts in June 2026 and sentenced to a further 24 years on 25 August 2026. Wikipedia counts eleven followers convicted.

Where things stand. Incarcerated, serving 50 federal years plus 24 state years.

c.2019 Declares himself a prophet as the FLDS fragments; families follow him.
AUGUST 2022 Stopped in Flagstaff after a passer-by sees children's fingers through the slats of a towed trailer.
September 2022 Arrested by the FBI; children are taken into Arizona state custody — several later go missing from foster care, allegedly removed by his followers.
1 APRIL 2024 Pleads guilty to conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
9 DECEMBER 2024 SENTENCED TO 50 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON. The judge told him he had made the girls into sex slaves and raped them regularly.
28 APRIL 2025 Torrance Bistline, convicted by a jury, sentenced to 35 years, the last follower sentenced.
8 APRIL 2026 Netflix releases Trust Me: The False Prophet, a documentary series on the group.
JUNE 2026 CONVICTED AGAIN on three state child abuse counts.
25 AUGUST 2026 SENTENCED TO A FURTHER 24 YEARS on the state counts.

Checked 2026-09-16 · living: health details are kept at home

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