Members of a new offshoot of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have started taking plea deals in federal court and admitting their roles in providing child “brides” to their leader, Samuel Bateman.
Some in the group also have admitted in federal court papers to orchestrating a plan to kidnap the girls from Arizona child protective custody in November 2022, after federal agents raided their homes weeks earlier looking for evidence of sex relationships between adults and children.
Bateman — who rose to power among several polygamist families in 2019 after claiming that he was a new prophet — pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. In a plea agreement, he acknowledged that he had spiritually married 20 wives, including 10 underage girls. His intent in marrying the girls, who were as young as 9 years old, “was to engage in sexual activity with minor girls,” he admitted.
“And he did so on a regular basis,” the plea agreement he signed states.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Samuel Bateman leaves the courthouse during the trial of Warren Jeffs in St. George on Nov. 20, 2007. Bateman was present as an observer and supporter of Jeffs, but in 2019 began telling people that Jeffs had died — which wasn't true — and that he was the new prophet.
Bateman originally faced 51 felonies in Arizona federal court, but he pleaded guilty to just two charges as part of his agreement with federal prosecutors. The plea agreement recommends a sentence of between 20 and 50 years in federal prison, followed by lifetime supervision and a requirement that he register as a sex offender. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced on July 15.
There is one caveat, though, that has the potential to unravel the deal: Bateman agreed that all of his followers who have also been federally charged will also plead guilty — or else federal prosecutors can take back the deal he signed.
So far, six of Bateman’s followers have taken their own plea deals. The remaining five have until April 12 to accept a plea deal, according to a court filing.
Here’s what each follower admitted to — and Bateman also admitted to his role in these crimes in the lengthy plea deal he signed.
Marona Johnson
She pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding. Her plea agreement recommends a sentence which does not exceed five years, followed by supervised release. In it, she said she was the first adult wife Bateman took after he began claiming he was the prophet in 2019. (Bateman had been married prior to this, but was divorced.) Bateman and Johnson have two children together.
Johnson said she saw her husband take additional wives over the next two years, including the ten who were underage. She admitted that she watched Bateman engage in sexual activity with the girls, and sometimes participated.
“This included the defendant having sex with Bateman in front of his child ‘brides’ so they could learn how to sexually please Bateman,” she admitted.
When the FBI raided their property in September 2022, Johnson said, she hid a USB drive that contained her journal and Bateman’s personal journal that contained his “priesthood record.” She admitted giving the USB drive to someone else and asking them to hide it from federal agents.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) FBI agents raid the home of Samuel Bateman in Colorado City, Ariz., on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.
She also admitted to helping orchestrate the plan to kidnap eight of the nine girls that Arizona child welfare officials had taken after the raid. The women successfully took the girls from state custody in November 2022, and law enforcement found the children a few days later in Spokane, Washington.
A federal judge has agreed to consider mitigating testimony from two experts — one who will talk about trauma, and a second who is an expert on FLDS culture — before sentencing Johnson on July 15.
Leia Bistline
She pleaded guilty in January to conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding. Her plea agreement recommends a sentence which does not exceed five years, followed by supervised release.
Bistline admitted that she married Bateman in December 2020, by which time he had already taken some of his child brides. She admitted to being aware that Bateman had sex with the children, and also admitted to participating in group sexual activities which sometimes involved minors. She further admitted that she had sex with Bateman or another male follower while a child bride watched. She also admitted to helping plan the kidnappings.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Three of seven underaged girls cling to each other before being removed from the home of Samuel Bateman, following his arrest in Colorado City, Ariz., on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
She and Johnson have been the only wives so far to ask the federal judge to hear experts on trauma and FLDS culture before their sentencing. She is also expected to be sentenced on July 15.
Donnae Barlow
She pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding. Her plea agreement recommends a sentence which does not exceed five years, followed by supervised release.
She admitted that she watched Bateman engage in sexual activity with underage girls, and sometimes participated herself. She also admitted to planning and successfully kidnapping eight of the nine girls from state custody. She admitted that she picked up three of the girls on Nov. 27, 2022, and drove them to California, where they met up with Bateman’s other adult wives and the other girls.
Brenda Barlow
She also pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding. Her plea agreement recommends a sentence which does not exceed five years, followed by supervised release. She admitted that she participated in group sexual activities, sometimes involving underage girls. Brenda Barlow also admitted that after Bateman was first arrested in August 2022, he called her and told her to delete his Signal account, the messaging app he used to communicate with his followers.
Bateman had been arrested on Aug. 28 near Flagstaff after someone called police to report a suspicious vehicle pulling a box trailer with children inside. The FBI raided his homes a few weeks later.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Family and followers of Samuel Bateman gather around as he calls from custody after his arrest in Colorado City, Ariz., on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.
Brenda Barlow admitted that during the early morning raid she hid Bateman’s tablet and computer in the mountains as well as a key to a trailer. She admitted she had touched Bateman while he had sexual contact with a minor inside that trailer the day before the FBI raided the property. She also admitted that she helped orchestrate the plan to kidnap the child brides from Arizona child welfare custody.
Moroni Johnson
He is the only male follower to have accepted a plea deal so far, pleading guilty in February to participating in a scheme to transport underage girls for sexual activity. The potential sentence for that crime is a prison term between 10 years to life — but prosecutors did not recommend a sentence in his plea agreement. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Moroni Johnson admitted that he enabled Bateman to marry some of the underage wives, knowing that the leader would engage in sexual activity with them once they were “married.” He knew this, he admitted, because “Bateman spoke freely about this in front of all of his followers” and he himself had participated in group sexual activities in front of minors.
Josephine Barlow Bistline
She pleaded guilty on Monday to two counts of persuading or coercing travel to engage in sexual activity, aid and abet. Her plea agreement recommends a sentence not to exceed 17 years, followed by a lifetime of supervision. She will also be required to register as a sex offender. Her sentencing is also scheduled for July 15.
Bistline admitted to enabling Bateman to marry two of his child brides, and transporting the children across state lines for sexual activity. She also admitted to participating in group sexual activity which included minors.
When child welfare officials began investigating Bateman’s relationship with the young girls in 2021, Bistline admitted that she denied allegations and wouldn’t speak to state officials. She further admitted that she provided the vehicles used to kidnap the girls, and that she sent “harassing and threatening email communications” to child welfare officials in the year after their kidnapping attempt.
Prior to her guilty pleas, Bistline had twice asked for the charges against her to be dismissed, arguing in motions she filed herself that she was being prosecuted for her religious beliefs. She called the charging document a “sham indictment” involving a family that was being singled out and targeted. A judge denied both motions.
Other followers
There are still several other followers who have not yet taken a plea deal: Naomi Bistline, Moretta Rose Johnson, Leilani Barlow, LaDell Jay Bistline Jr. and Torrance Bistline. Most have until the April deadline to accept a plea deal, according to a court filing, or they will go to trial. That doesn’t apply to Naomi Bistline, who had been found not competent to proceed with her case.
Prior to his 2022 arrest, Bateman and his followers had been living in the area known as “Short Creek,” which include the twin towns of Colorado City in Arizona and Hildale in Utah. Historically, this area has been the traditional home base of the polygamous FLDS faith.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The so-called "Green House," which was raided and searched by the FBI after the arrest of Samuel Bateman in Colorado City, Ariz. on Tuesday, Sept. 13, 2022.
The communities had been moving away from the control of FLDS faith in recent years, a shift that started after FLDS leader Warren Jeffs was sent to prison after he was convicted of sexually assaulting girls he had taken as his wives.
Bateman began trying to recruit members to follow him in 2019 by telling them that Jeffs died in prison — which is not true — and he was the new prophet. He amassed roughly 50 followers in the years that followed — some of whom gave him their own wives and families, gave him property and bought him expensive cars.
Followers who spoke to The Salt Lake Tribune said Bateman pressured them to give him money, to bear testimony of him, and for him to be given new wives. A federal agent wrote in court papers that Bateman didn’t work, and that much of his money came from his own followers.
