today is the day we go home
In the closing days of 2022, a federal courtroom in Phoenix became the setting for a reckoning long in the making: Samuel Bateman, self-declared prophet of a polygamous splinter sect, entered a plea of not guilty to charges that he engineered the kidnapping of eight minor girls from state care — girls he had already claimed as wives. The case draws back a curtain on a closed community where spiritual authority has long been wielded as a instrument of control over the most vulnerable, and where children's silence has been mistaken, by those who should have known better, for safety. What the journals, the encrypted messages, and the forensic interviews now reveal is that the harm done to these girls did not end when the state intervened — it continued, in new forms, even from within the walls of protection.
- A man who calls himself a prophet was found towing three young girls locked inside a cargo trailer on an Arizona highway — the opening image of a case that would only grow darker.
- Within weeks of being placed in state care, eight of the nine rescued girls vanished from their group homes, communicating through encrypted chats with Bateman's adult wives who drove them across state lines to a Washington Airbnb.
- Journals seized from Bateman's homes and testimony from informants describe a pattern of sexual coercion so systematic that older girls in state care appeared to be actively suppressing the younger ones' disclosures.
- A single girl's confession the day before Thanksgiving — that Bateman had sexually abused her — broke the silence, but came just days before the coordinated escape that federal prosecutors now call a kidnapping.
- Three adult women face federal charges for orchestrating the girls' flight, while Bateman himself has not yet been charged with sex trafficking despite allegations that point directly toward it.
- With trial postponed and defense preparation ongoing, eight girls remain in protective custody as investigators continue to map the full dimensions of what was done to them.
Samuel Bateman, a 46-year-old who leads a small polygamous splinter sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, appeared in federal court in Phoenix in late December 2022 and pleaded not guilty to charges of orchestrating the kidnapping of eight minor girls from Arizona state care. Bateman claims the title of prophet and maintains twenty wives, most of them children. He was first arrested in August after law enforcement found three young girls locked inside a cargo trailer he was towing near Flagstaff — more than a thousand miles from his sect's base in Colorado City.
Authorities subsequently raided his Arizona residences and placed nine additional girls in state group homes. But on November 27, eight of those nine girls disappeared. The FBI alleges that Bateman coordinated their escape through three adult women — Moretta Johnson, Naomi Bistline, and Donnae Barlow — who drove the girls to Spokane, Washington, where federal agents located them on December 1 inside an Airbnb. All three women now face charges of evidence tampering and aiding in the kidnapping. Investigators later learned the girls had been communicating with Bateman's older wives through an encrypted Signal chat. One girl's journal entry from that day read simply: 'today is the day we go home.'
The court filings describe a deeply troubling pattern of abuse. Journals seized from Bateman's homes documented physical contact between him and the girls. Informants described scenes of sexual coercion, including incidents in which underage wives were forced to witness and participate in sexual acts. Bateman allegedly told his own underage daughter he was meant to marry and impregnate her, and kissed her inappropriately in front of followers. When the girls first spoke to investigators, they disclosed little — FBI Special Agent Dawn Martin noted she believed the older girls were suppressing the younger ones' accounts. It was not until the eve of Thanksgiving that one girl finally told investigators she had been sexually abused by Bateman.
Bateman has not been charged with federal sex trafficking, though the allegations in court documents suggest a sustained pattern of exploitation. He leads roughly fifty followers — a fraction of the larger FLDS organization still loyal to Warren Jeffs, who has been imprisoned since 2006. A trial initially set for January 10 has been postponed at the request of Bateman's defense attorney, who cited the need for additional preparation time. The eight girls are currently in protective custody, and the investigation into the full scope of the alleged abuse continues.
Samuel Bateman stood in federal court in Phoenix on a Wednesday in late December and entered a plea of not guilty to charges that he orchestrated the kidnapping of eight minor girls from Arizona state care facilities. The 46-year-old leads a splinter sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a polygamous group that has operated in the shadows of Warren Jeffs' larger organization for years. Bateman, who claims the title of prophet and maintains twenty wives—most of them children—was first arrested in August after law enforcement discovered three young girls locked inside a cargo trailer he was towing on a highway near Flagstaff, Arizona, more than a thousand miles from the sect's Colorado City stronghold.
What followed was a cascade of revelations. When authorities raided Bateman's Arizona residences, they found nine additional girls and placed them in Arizona Department of Child Safety group homes. But the girls did not stay there long. On November 27, 2022, eight of the nine escaped—or were removed—from the facilities. The FBI alleges that Bateman orchestrated their departure by conspiring with three adult women: Moretta Johnson, Naomi Bistline, and Donnae Barlow. These women picked up the girls and drove them to Spokane, Washington, where federal agents found them on December 1 inside an Airbnb rental. All three women have been charged with tampering with evidence and aiding in the kidnapping.
The documents filed in federal court paint a portrait of systematic abuse. When the girls first entered state care in September, investigators began reviewing journals that had been seized from Bateman's homes. The entries detailed physical contact between the girls and Bateman—kissing, sleeping together, touching. Informants who spoke to the FBI described scenes of sexual coercion, including an incident in which underage wives were forced to watch Bateman have sex with their father before being compelled to have sex with other men. One informant reported that Bateman complained to some of his wives about a child bride no older than ten who was wetting the bed. He also told his own underage daughter that he was meant to marry and impregnate her, and on multiple occasions kissed her inappropriately in front of his followers.
When the girls first spoke to investigators in forensic interviews, they did not initially report sexual abuse. FBI Special Agent Dawn Martin noted in her affidavit that she believed the older girls were preventing the younger ones from disclosing what had happened. It was not until the day before Thanksgiving that one of the nine girls in state care told investigators that Bateman had sexually abused her. Days later, the eight girls fled the group homes. Investigators discovered they had been communicating with Bateman's older wives through an encrypted Signal chat. In a journal entry dated November 27, one girl wrote simply: "today is the day we go home."
Bateman has not been charged with federal sex trafficking, though the allegations detailed in court filings suggest a pattern of sexual exploitation of minors. He has operated his splinter sect with roughly fifty followers, a small fraction of the larger FLDS organization that Warren Jeffs has controlled from prison since 2006. For years, Bateman attempted to gain standing within Jeffs' inner circle before declaring himself prophet—a move that one of Jeffs' sons confirmed to reporters. Most FLDS members still recognize Jeffs as their spiritual leader, but Bateman has carved out his own following among the most vulnerable members of the community.
A trial was initially scheduled for January 10, but Bateman's attorney, Andrew Marcantel, has requested additional time to prepare his defense. Marcantel told reporters he expects the trial date to be postponed. The case remains in federal court in Phoenix, with the eight girls now in protective custody and the full scope of the alleged abuse still being investigated.
Citações Notáveis
Bateman conspired with three women to assist the girls in escaping state care and transported them to Spokane, Washington by car— FBI Special Agent Dawn Martin, in federal court affidavit
Bateman told his own underage daughter he was meant to marry and impregnate her, and on several occasions kissed her inappropriately in front of other followers— FBI report based on informant interviews
A Conversa do Hearth Outra perspectiva sobre a história
Why did the girls run away from state care if they were supposed to be safe there?
The FBI believes they didn't run away at all—they were taken. Bateman's wives communicated with them through encrypted messages, coordinated the escape, and drove them across state lines. The girls had been in contact with the sect the whole time.
How does a man with twenty wives, most of them children, operate for this long without intervention?
He operated in the margins. The FLDS itself is decentralized and hidden. Bateman's splinter sect is even smaller and more isolated. It took three girls being found locked in a trailer on a highway for law enforcement to even know the full scope of what was happening.
The journals—what made them so damning?
They were the girls' own words. They documented what Bateman did to them, written in their own hands. That's harder to dismiss or reframe than testimony alone. And the encrypted chats showed ongoing coordination between the sect and the girls even after they were supposed to be in protective state care.
Why would the older girls keep the younger ones from talking?
Coercion and loyalty. They'd been conditioned to see Bateman as their spiritual husband and prophet. The older girls had more investment in the sect's narrative. Protecting the secret protected their own place in the hierarchy.
What happens to these girls now?
They're in protective custody. But they've been removed from their families, their community, their entire world—even if that world was abusive. Reintegration is going to be extraordinarily difficult. They've been taught to see the outside world as corrupt.
Does Bateman's not guilty plea mean he thinks he can win this?
It's standard procedure. But the evidence is substantial—journals, informant testimony, the encrypted communications, the coordinated escape. His lawyer is asking for more time, which suggests they're still building a strategy rather than preparing for trial.