
Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 46, was the leader of a small group of polygamist Mormons known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
After assuming control of the small group of around 50 followers in 2019, Bateman allegedly ‘began to proclaim he was a prophet’ and declared his intention to marry his own teenage daughter, according to an FBI affidavit seen by the Salt Lake Tribune.
In a series of allegations outlined by the FBI, Bateman married up to 20 women- ‘many of whom are minors, mostly under the age of 15,’ and forced them to engage in sickening acts of incest, pedophilic group sex and child sex trafficking.
In one shocking incident cited in the document, Bateman instructed three male followers to have sex with his daughters, one of whom was just 12, while he watched.
Bateman allegedly claimed the girls had ‘sacrificed their virtue for the Lord,’ and went on to say: ‘God will fix their bodies and put the membrane back in their body.
‘I’ve never had more confidence in doing his will. It’s all out of love.’
Samuel Rappylee Bateman declared himself a prophet and forced his followers to engage in sickening paedophilic acts
He was arrested while transporting several underage ‘wives’ in the back of a filthy trailer
Nine of his underage victims were taken into protective custody
following his arrest, although their current whereabouts are unknown
FBI agents have since raided Bateman’s two homes and are gathering evidence against the cult leader
Bateman’s group were originally an offshoot of the FLDS, a larger group run by Warren Jeffs, another convicted paedophile currently serving a prison sentence in Texas for sexually abusing two girls.
The splinter group consider themselves separate from Jeffs’ version of the FLDS church, The Tribune reports, although a photo of the former leader was found hanging in a bedroom in one of the houses raided by the FBI.
They have called themselves Fundamental FLDS, and have also been referred to by others as the ‘Samuel Bateman group’ and ‘Samuelites.’ They consider Bateman their leader, and refer to him as ‘father.’
In the warehouse that was raided Tuesday, there was a Post-it note left behind.
‘Samuel Rappylee Bateman,’ someone wrote in black Sharpie. ‘I am here to do your will.’
Under a row of hand drawn hearts, they wrote in capital letters: ‘I LOVE YOU FOREVER.’