2 weeks ago
2
[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A man first brought to national attention two years ago for allegedly coercing girls as young as 9 years old into engaging in sexual acts has finally been sentenced.
You may recall the name Samuel Rappylee Bateman. Back in December of 2022, we reported on how the FBI was closing in on the self-proclaimed Mormon sect leader. He claimed to have more than 20 spiritual “wives” — ten of whom were allegedly under the age of 18.
Bateman’s disturbing religious sect was an off-shoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which was at one time led by the infamous Warren Jeffs. Now 69 years old, Jeffs was convicted in 2011 of several sex crimes against a 15-year-old girl and a 12-year-old girl who he’d taken as child brides during his time leading that group. He is currently serving a life sentence for those crimes. There have been multiple films made about his crimes.
And Bateman apparently followed in his footsteps.
On Monday, according to the Associated Press, the now-48-year-old was sentenced in an Arizona courtroom to serve the next 50 years in prison following his decision to take a plea deal in his case. Per the outlet, the deal centered on Bateman pleading guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
Related: Five Teenagers Shot To Death By Convicted Sex Offender During Oklahoma Slumber Party
Normally, the first charge carries a sentence of 10 years to life, with the second carrying a life sentence. In Bateman’s case, his plea agreement allowed for a sentence of between 20 and 50 years on each count. And on Monday, US District Court Judge Susan Brnovich sentenced him to the maximum amount of time on each charge — 50 years.
The two sentences are to be served concurrently. As part of the deal, Bateman admitted in court to persuading multiple children to have sex with him. He also copped to arranging sex between children and other followers of his religious sect.
Disgusting…
As you may recall from our December 2022 reporting on the FBI’s investigation into Bateman, he first came to the attention of law enforcement in August of that year. He was detained in Flagstaff, Arizona after another driver on a highway in the northern Arizona city spotted what appeared to be children’s fingers reaching through the slats of a trailer door being pulled by Bateman’s vehicle. When cops pulled him over, they discovered three underage girls, then between 11 and 14 years old, inside the unventilated trailer with a makeshift toilet, a sofa, and a few camping chairs.
Local police — and later, federal investigators — eventually uncovered a disturbing network in which Bateman allegedly traveled between Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and Nebraska collecting “wives” and coercing young girls into sexual activity.
Related: TikTok Star Marlena Velez Arrested AGAIN — At The SAME Target Location!!!
Bateman’s ordeal was far from over, though. As we previously noted after his initial arrest, nine children were taken from his home and placed into foster care. Eight of those children were later kidnapped from foster care homes and eventually tracked down all the way in eastern Washington, where the AP reports they’d been driven by another one of Bateman’s so-called “wives.”
Along with several other co-conspirators — several “wives” in his sect, along with other followers — Bateman eventually confessed to the kidnapping plot, per the US Attorney’s Office. Per the AP, seven of his “wives” have since also been convicted of child sex crimes. Two brothers who lived in Colorado City, Arizona and followed Bateman’s religious teachings were also convicted earlier this year for their roles in the alleged kidnapping and coercion of the young girls following the 2022 ordeal. Those brothers are both scheduled to be sentenced next week following their convictions.
Specifically regarding Bateman’s 50-year concurrent sentences as part of his plea deal, three of his teenage victims spoke out in court on Monday. Per the Arizona Republic, one unnamed minor girl said on the record:
“This abuse has created a ripple effect that has touched everyone I know. Sam, you have no power over me. I hope you feel the pain you caused me as you sit rotting in your cell.”
Another minor girl explained that she was there to speak out “for the child who doesn’t have a voice, who’s being exploited, who wakes up every day a slave to the twisted passions of an evil person.” She added:
“It’s not daring to feel the pain because you don’t know if you can stand it. It’s lying in your bed, and I wonder if you even matter to anyone. It’s endless therapy sessions full of tears that seem to solve nothing. It’s not daring to trust anyone because you don’t want to be hurt again. It’s a heart that’s shattered into a billion pieces that seem impossible to put back together.”
Wow.
Judge Brnovich said to Bateman as he stood before her in the courtroom on Monday:
“You should not have the opportunity to be free and never have the opportunity to be around young women. … The amount of harm you caused is nothing short of unmeasurable. You took them from their homes, from their families and made them into sex slaves. You stripped them of their innocence and childhood.”
Per the Arizona Republic, the judge also noted that at Bateman’s age, a 50-year prison is effectively a life sentence. She’s certainly right about that. Thank goodness that justice has now been served in this horrific case.
If you have sincere cause to suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence and would like to learn more about resources, consider checking out https://www.rainn.org/resources.
[Image via Coconino County Sheriff’s Office]
English (US) ·