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Shocking bodycam footage shows cult leader Samuel Bateman transporting 'WIVES' aged 11 to 14 in trailer

After the police broke the trailer door, they discovered three girls, ages 11 to 14, cowering inside the car that had been equipped with a porta potty and makeshift seats

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WARNING: This article contains details of incidents of sexual assault that some readers may find traumatic. Discretion is advised

COLORADO CITY, ARIZONA: Samuel Rappylee Bateman, the polygamist cult leader, was detained in Flagstaff, Arizona, after being found transporting three of his teenage "wives" in a box trailer. Deputies from the Coconino County Sheriff's Department recorded footage of the arrest during a late-August traffic stop, which DailyMail obtained. In the footage, a handcuffed Bateman looked frail and dejected. 

The trailer was being carried by a black GMC Denali truck when onlookers noticed "children's fingers" sticking out of the sides of the trailer and alerted the police. When officers broke down the door, they discovered three girls, ages 11 to 14, cowering inside the car that had been equipped with a porta potty and makeshift seats, as reported by Daily Mail.

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Bateman, 46, is a former Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) member. He was an ardent follower of FLDS's founder Warren Jeffs, 67, who is currently serving a life term in Texas after being found guilty of sexually abusing two minor girls. Jeffs expelled Bateman from the FLDS in 2019 by issuing an order from behind bars when he proclaimed himself a prophet and told his now ex-wife of his plan to wed their teen daughter. However, Bateman was able to gather a group of 50 people who identify as "Samuelites" and build a harem of 23 wives, the youngest of whom was barely nine years old when they were married.

Daily Mail reported that all of the adherents, including the spouses, are still active FLDS members. The bodycam footage also shows some of the wives, including Naomi Bistline and Moretta Johnson, 19, both of whom are also being charged. In the video, a visibly furious Naomi is heard imploring the police, "You have to let him go," and "This makes me angry," before being scolded for responding to the police's queries on behalf of the youngsters. She goes on to say that the girls are "scared of the cops" to the deputies. "It's because of what happened in 2008 and that's why they're scared of you," Moretta continues. The incident in question refers to the 2008 raid at Jeffs' Yearning for Zion ranch in Eldorado, Texas, which resulted in the removal and placement of over 400 children in the custody of Child Protective Services. The property was raided after a caller reported that minors were being sexually abused there, and authorities found proof of marriages between young women and older men. Even though it turned out that the caller, who identified herself as a 16-year-old FLDS girl, was a fraud, there was still enough evidence to convict Jeffs, including disturbing recordings of him raping a young girl. 

In the opening moments of the video from Flagstaff, officers ask four of the women if anyone is traveling in the trailer before forcing them to exit the black GMC Denali vehicle. They shake their heads only to have the cops open the trailer and find three young girls, one of whom is 11 years old, hiding inside. Bateman is shown being handcuffed and led to one side while still ogling the women as they pass by. When Naomi wonders whether it is unlawful to tow people in a trailer, deputies respond that it is because the girls are minors, which sets off a series of disputes between Naomi and the deputies. In addition, she is told to put her phone—along with a few of the other wives—on top of a cop car and stop filming the cops. A 14-year-old girl who is one of Bateman's younger wives is also interviewed in the video. She is heard confessing in the video that she has no idea where she is heading and calling Bateman a "friend." She added, "Well the thing is, I got invited to come. They just told me we're going on a trip. It'll be a couple of hours only."

Later, Bateman was taken to the Coconino County Detention Center, where he was arrested on three counts of child endangerment. After making several calls to his wives from the Coconino County Detention Facility requesting that they erase the contents of a potentially damaging communication on the encrypted messaging app Signal, he is currently imprisoned in Florence, Arizona, under an FBI hold. Early in September, the FBI conducted a raid on his Colorado City, Arizona, residence and re-arrested him on allegations of tampering with evidence. Agents seized nine minors during the search and transported them to group homes in Phoenix. Federal charges of kidnapping have been brought against Moretta, Naomi, and another Bateman wife called Donnae Barlow after they aided eight out of the nine in escaping the homes.