Mormon Leader Had Sex With Underage Wives’ Father

The Daily Beast reports:

Samuel Bateman, a self-proclaimed “prophet” of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had 20 wives, many of whom were under the age of 15, according to an FBI investigation.

Bateman drank wine and had sex with a male follower, Moroni Johnson, in a motel room in Lincoln, Nebraska, in front of his underage wives, new court documents show, some of whom were Johnson’s own daughters.

The FBI said the women and girls were required to stand naked and watch the “binding of brothers.” Bateman also forced his wives to have sex with other male followers, the documents say.

Salt Lake City’s CBS affiliate reports:



Eight underage girls were recently rescued from an Airbnb in Spokane. Documents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reveal the ongoing investigation into a polygamist cult leader and his followers now accused of sexual abuse and kidnapping.

45-year-old Samuel Bateman is currently behind bars facing multiple charges as part of a federal arrest warrant. According to investigators, Bateman has engaged in criminal sexual activity for years and claims to have more than 20 wives, almost all under the age of 15.

According to court documents, Bateman began to proclaim himself as a prophet of the FLDS church in 2019 and enlisted about 50 followers. Throughout the last three years, investigators say Bateman convinced several male followers to give their own wives and children to Bateman to become his wives.