PHOENIX — A polygamous prophet convicted of sexually assaulting children could be returning to Arizona to testify against his accused followers.
Warren Jeffs is named one of more than 160 witnesses called to take the witness stand in a federal trial involving his self-proclaimed successor, Samuel Bateman.
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Jeffs is currently in a Texas prison where he will spend the rest of his life behind bars for sexually abusing young children while he was in control of the polygamous FLDS church. Jeffs is reported to have more than 70 wives and controlled the towns of Hilldale, Utah and Colorado City, Arizona.
Samuel Bateman is another self-proclaimed polygamous prophet of the FLDS. Bateman claimed to be the new leader following Jeffs' conviction. Like Jeffs, Bateman was also arrested and accused of sex crimes against children. A federal indictment claims Bateman had several child brides with the youngest being nine years old.
Earlier this year, Bateman took a plea deal with federal prosecutors along with some of his accused co-conspirators. However, two of his so-called followers LaDell Bistline, Jr. and Torrance Bistline are set to go to trial in early September.
Jeffs, Bateman, the child brides, members of the FBI and dozens of others were named in the witness list obtained by 12News.
Bateman will be sentenced at the end of August.
In pleading guilty, Bateman acknowledged taking underage brides, having sex activity with them and arranging group sex, sometimes involving child brides.
He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
Bateman was arrested in August 2022 by Arizona state police in Flagstaff after someone spotted small fingers in a door gap on an enclosed trailer. Authorities found three girls — between the ages of 11 and 14 — in the trailer, which had a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs and no ventilation.
Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again the next month and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.
At the time of the second arrest, authorities removed nine children from Bateman’s home in Colorado City and placed them in foster care. Eight of the children later escaped, and the FBI alleged that three of Bateman’s adult wives played a part in getting them out of Arizona. The girls were later found hundreds of miles away in Washington state in a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.
Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the “Heavenly Father.” Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had sex with minor girls on a regular basis. Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.
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