Polygamous sect leader gets 24 years in prison for child abuse after girls found in trailer
In the state case, Bateman acknowledged he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and that the ventilation wasn’t good, but he downplayed the conditions
Polygamous sect leader Samuel Bateman, who was convicted of child abuse, appears in Coconino County Superior Court in Flagstaff, Ariz., for a sentencing hearing Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026. (Jake Bacon/Arizona Daily Sun via AP, Pool)