Samuel Bateman: Polygamous ‘prophet’ had more than 20 wives, many of them underage, says FBI
A self-proclaimed “prophet” had more than 20 wives, including many who were underage, according to the FBI.
Samuel Rappylee Bateman allegedly told his wives that it was “Heavenly Father’s will” that they participate in sex acts with him and punished followers who did not treat him as a prophet.
The 46-year-old was a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) until he left to start his own small offshoot group near the Arizona-Utah border.
He was financially supported by male followers who also gave up their own wives and children to be Bateman’s wives, according to the FBI.
The bureau’s affidavit was filed one day after authorities tracked down eight girls – who had been under Bateman’s care but were placed in state custody in Arizona – to an Airbnb in Washington state. The girls had escaped from their group homes in Arizona, the affidavit said.
Newly-released court documents provide fresh insight about what investigators have found in the case that first became public in August.
It accompanied charges against three of Bateman’s wives – Naomi Bistline, Donnae Barlow and Moretta Rose Johnson – who are accused of kidnapping and impeding a foreseeable prosecution.
Bistline and Barlow are scheduled to appear in court in Flagstaff, Arizona, while Johnson is awaiting extradition from Washington state.
The women are accused of fleeing with eight of Bateman’s children, who were placed in Arizona state custody earlier this year.
The minors were found last week hundreds of miles away in Spokane, Washington.
Family and followers of Samuel Bateman. File pic: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP
Bateman was arrested in August when someone spotted small fingers poking through the gap of a trailer he was driving through Flagstaff.
He posted bail but was arrested again and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.
Court records allege that Bateman engaged in child sex trafficking and polygamy, but none of his current charges relate to those allegations.
The most recent charges do not include sex crimes.
Polygamy is illegal in Arizona but was decriminalised in Utah in 2020.
‘Self-proclaimed prophet’
The FBI affidavit filed in the women’s case largely centres on Bateman, who proclaimed himself a prophet in 2019.
Bateman says he was told by former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs to invoke the “Spirit of God on these people”.
The affidavit details explicit sexual acts that Bateman and his followers engaged in to fulfil “Godly duties”.
Jeffs is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison for child sex abuse related to under-age marriages.
Warren Jeffs
Bateman lived in Colorado City in Arizona among a patchwork of devout members of the polygamous FLDS, ex-church members, and those who do not practice these beliefs.
Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the mainstream Mormon church abandoned the practice in 1890 and now has a strict prohibition on multiple wives.
When Bateman was arrested earlier this year, he instructed his followers to obtain passports and to delete messages sent through the encrypted messaging system Signal, authorities said.
He demanded that his followers confess publicly to any indiscretions, and shared those confessions widely, according to the FBI affidavit.
Bateman claimed that these punishments, which ranged from a “time out” to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the affidavit states.
The three children found in the trailer Bateman was hauling through Flagstaff – which had a makeshift toilet, a couch, camping chairs and no ventilation – told authorities they did not have any health or medical needs, a police report stated.
None of the girls placed in state custody in Arizona disclosed sexual abuse by Bateman during forensic interviews, though one said she was present during sexual activity.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
After a poor debate against Donald Trump in June, he withdrew from the 2024 election and endorsed his vice president Kamala Harris.
In February 2023, he had a skin lesion removed from his chest that was a basal cell carcinoma, a common form of skin cancer.
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A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
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One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
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