Law&Crime Sidebar - 19 Disturbing Details on Cult ‘Prophet’ Samuel Bateman in New Netflix Doc

Episode Date: April 24, 2026

A new Netflix docuseries pulls back the curtain on self-proclaimed FLDS cult “prophet” Samuel Bateman, revealing how he built a secretive polygamist group that spiraled into shocking allegations of child abuse. The series highlights the courageous work of Christine Marie and Tolga Katas, who gained Bateman’s trust and secretly documented his inner circle — ultimately helping authorities take action. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber breaks down the key evidence, disturbing claims, and how the case against Bateman came together.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Go to http://www.gamingadvocates.com to start your free, confidential case evaluation.HOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael Deininger, Christina O'Shea, Alex Ciccarone, & Jay CruzScript Writing & Producing - Savannah Williamson & Juliana BattagliaGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrimeTwitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I'm asking for your name. Sir. Yes, sir. What is your name? Samuel what? Samuel Bateman. Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back.

Let's not do this right now, huh? FLDS cult prophet, Samuel Bateman, is back in the spotlight. As a new Netflix docu-series gives us a never-before-seen look inside his secretive, polygamous group, tucked away along the Arizona-Utah border, and we're learning more about the key role played by a couple on the outside, risking it all to expose the disturbing reality behind Bateman's teachings, ultimately leading to his arrest. Welcome to Sidebar, presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. Hey, guys, real quick, before we move on, we have another law and crime legal alert for you. This is about Roblox. They are under fire for allegedly not taking adequate safety measures to protect children on its plow. platform. That's right, the popular virtual universe has millions of users who are minors, yet

players can customize their avatars to hide their age and gender. This is a feature that may also be available to predators with bad intentions. Look, you might not even realize the dangers that Roblox arguably poses for your child, but if your child was sexually abused or assaulted or groomed by someone they met on Roblox, you may qualify for potential compensation. Look, children may not know better, but Roblox arguably should. And our legal sponsors are seeking justice for families that are affected by this alleged gross negligence. So visit gaming advocates.com to start your free confidential case evaluation. Get a mentor.

Pay a bunch of money if you have to, but get somebody to show you how to achieve what it is that you want in life. Samuel Bateman painted himself as somebody much more powerful than a mentor. In fact, he became a self-proclaimed messenger of God to his 50 followers. and 20 plus wives. This was all part of a fundamentalist offshoot of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints residing in the community of Short Creek,

its remote area across the Utah, Arizona state lines. That is until Bateman's world came crumbling down in 2022, because through the new Netflix docu-series, trust me, the false prophet, former and current members of the FLDS church gave a firsthand perspective of Samuel Bateman's rise to power and the extreme influence he had over this congregation, leading to the horrifying allegations

that landed behind bars for decades. And a big reason this came to light was through the work of cult researcher Dr. Christine Marie and her videographer, her videographer husband, I should say, Tolga Katas, the brave couple who set out on a mission to gain Bateman and his group's trust so that they could document their day-to-day life and ultimately catch Bateman's crimes right on film, for the federal authorities, for the FBI. Now, there is a lot of shocking details from this investigation, this new docus series. It adds an even more disturbing dimension to this cult saga. We're going to walk you through all of this step by step, beginning with Bateman's rise to the top within the

FLDS community. So the reality is this likely wouldn't have played out if it wasn't for the life imprisonment of FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, who was convicted in 2011 for sexually assaulting two of his purported child brides. Though it is asserted by law enforcement, he had up to 78 wives, with several of them being underage girls. According to FLDS members that were included in the Netflix special, Jeff's lengthy imprisonment, that would cause a big rift in the community's structure, with Jeff's even ordering his followers to put marriage and childbirth up. on hold altogether, ultimately risking a population decline. So from this apparent desperate situation, there were new opportunities for leaders to emerge.

And that is where Samuel Bateman comes in, because Samuel Bateman reportedly used this to his advantage. Law enforcement claimed that Bateman started to proclaim he was a profit in 2019, that there had been some kind of spiritual transfer from Warren Jeffs. In the documentary, former FLDS members claim Bateman even told some of them, Jeffs was dead. And why is that important? Because this would allow him to establish credibility without a formal blessing from Jeff's himself and for Bateman to allow marriage and procreation to resume within the community. Senator, your whole life around helping other people and will help you be

successful. So according to a criminal complaint that was connected to this case, and we'll talk about the charges later on, Bateman was originally married to just one woman and had one daughter born in 2005. But that marriage dissolved after Bateman allegedly proclaimed he had a feeling or vision that he should take his own daughter as his wife. She would have been around 14 at the time. After his wife left him, he began taking on more wives, both young and old, this is according to investigators. That number would reportedly climb to more than 20 wives by the time of his arrest,

with law enforcement asserting many of them were minors, mostly under the age of 15. Now, in addition to growing his own immediate polygamous family, Bateman also gained male followers in the process, and that included Moroni Johnson, Torrance Bisline, and Liddell Bisline Jr., who are brought up in the documentary. So according to law enforcement, at least one former wife and seven of Johnson's daughters were married to Bateman, including two minors. Bisline Jr.'s wife and two of his minor daughters were also married to Bateman. We'll revisit more about those followers later on. Christine Marie, who I mentioned earlier, emphasized in the documentary how tight-knit Bateman kept his polygamous circle. And it took her and her husband, Tolga, a little time, some time, to form a close enough relationship with him to gain access to this Short Creek community and ultimately permission to film it. So Christine and Tolgo, they arrived in the area around 2015 to originally help with flood relief efforts.

And eventually, they found a nonprofit to support victims of human trafficking called Voices for Dignity. And the couple permanently relocated to Short Creek to continue supporting FLDS members and build relationships with the community. In the documentary, Christine talks about her own story and how her life was almost taken from her when she fell into a cult. She said she felt compelled to help others get out of a very similar situation. So Christine and Tolga told law enforcement they first met Bateman around 2020. Tolga claimed that Bateman tried to be a successful businessman, but that didn't appear to work out, and his latest ventures were in real estate and goal coaching. One of the biggest hindrances to success is exorcitis.

So any successful person, very successful person, every one of them that I've ever met or seen or talked to or read about, They have always overcome all their excuses. They do not make excuses. Around the time they met, Bateman was being evicted from his home in Colorado, City, Arizona, and according to a probable cause affidavit that was later filed against him, he appeared to be a broken man. By the end of that year, Bateman would travel to Christine in Togel's home in a large SUV packed with women and girls, all of whom Bateman apparently introduced as his wives,

the youngest being around nine years old. It was also around the end of 2020 that complaints to law enforcement would start coming in about Liddell Bisline Jr.'s minor children and their marriages to Bateman. So law enforcement, they eventually detained Bateman over the situation, but the minor's parents said the claims were just rumors. No charges were reportedly pressed. And around that same time, a forensic interview was also conducted with the daughter that that Bateman shared with his ex-wife.

And in that interview, his daughter described an incident on a family trip to Canada where Bateman allegedly told her he felt like she was his wife, that if his feelings were right, he would make her have a child. The daughter also accused Bateman of expressing uncomfortable desires to hug and kiss and have sex with her over text message. And during that interview, she even claimed she saw Bateman hug and kiss one of his young wives over a video call. That's all called wife was allegedly around 10 years old.

You fast forward to 2021. Christine and Tolga, they would start visiting Bateman's properties and filming what they portrayed to be a documentary about the FLDS way of life through Bateman's journey and teachings. And this footage is basically the focal point throughout the whole Netflix series. And at first, the footage captures, you know, routine gatherings, meals, choir performances. And during these initial interactions, it appears Bateman, his wives, his followers, they share this kind of positive dynamic, at least to the very least.

Everyone kind of puts on a smile. But right off the back, Christine expressed in the Netflix film that she was concerned with the fact that the minors were married to Bateman in the first place. And the viewers came to learn that the ugly truth would reveal itself as the cameras kept on rolling. Because in November of 2021, Christine reported to law enforcement that she all. audio recorded a conversation with Bateman and three of his wives, one of whom was a minor. And on the recording, part of which was played in the docu-series, they recounted what they called

the Atonement Ceremony. So according to the probable cause statement, the ceremony involved Bateman giving these three wives to his three male followers, Liddell Jr., Torrance, Moroni, to have sex with while Bateman watched. This would be the turning point for Christine and Toga's journey into Bateman's. polygamous world. The recordings from that conversation were handed over to law enforcement. The case was referred to federal authorities, and that is when Christine and Togo started working with FBI Special Agent Dawn Martin, who also appeared in the Netflix special. And Christine and Togo went from strictly filmmakers to FBI informants with the goal of gathering enough

evidence against Bateman to get him arrested on illegal sex acts. So eventually, the documentary takes a closer look at the life of one of Bateman's followers. We're talking about Julia Johnson. This is the wife of Moroni Johnson, and she and Moroni shared five daughters together, including two minors, and all the girls were married to Bateman. So now it's July of 2022,

and Julia comes forward to Christine and begins to express concern over Bateman's behavior, and what she claimed she had taken part in behind closed doors. As shown during this Netflix docu-series, Julia agrees to discuss her concerns on camera, ultimately worked with Christine and Tolga and the FBI on this secret operation, risking her relationship with her children, Bateman, the community as a whole. Let's go to this FBI criminal complaint because it begins with what Julia shared with Christine.

Quote, Julia stated Bateman required the women and girls to confess in public in front of the other women and girls. When Julia's daughter, J.D. number three, born in 2006, was 14 or 15 years old, She expressed fears of having a baby to Julia. Julia believes J.D.3 was concerned because Bateman was having sexual relations with her. Julia said Bateman demanded everyone to make confessions. He encouraged the confessions to be as vulgar as possible. Bateman then distributed the confessions to a group, email, or text. Bateman assigned corrections that he claimed the Lord had made as he chose.

A correction is a punishment ranging from a short time out, a days-long time out, or a public shaming. He blasted the corrections out to all the family members either by group email or text. So the following month, Julie agrees to speak with special FBI agent Don Martin and gives an even more detailed account of the allegations involving Bateman and his followers. According to Julia, Bateman required all the women in the group to turn over any money that they made, with Julie herself admitting that she also gave him money. And Julia said her husband, Moroni, used his funds to provide for the girls in the babies, including food, household products, personal care items. And meanwhile, Bateman reportedly

didn't have a job. She then tells the FBI agent about Bateman gradually taking Julia and Moroni's daughters to be his wives. And some of these allegations included in the criminal complaint, as you can imagine, are terrifying. Quote, Bateman read some revelations at command of Moroni to give him JD6, one of his daughters with previous wife, AB, born in 2010, who would have been around 12 at the time this interview as Bateman's wife. Moroni expressed great anguish and was under extreme stress over having to give his youngest daughter to Bateman. Bateman took J.D. 6 as a wife and returned to Colorado City, Arizona in May 2020. Julia believes J.D.6 has slept with Bateman because the other girls called Julia to see how to deal with J.D.6's bedwetting. M.J. and

S.J. said Bateman was disgusted when J.D.6 would wet on him. Bateman also took Johnson, formerly referenced as JD2, another daughter of Maroni and Julia, born in 2003 as his wife. Johnson had a baby in 2021, seven months after she turned 18, meaning she almost certainly conceived when she was 17. Quote, in August 2020, Bateman took JD3, born in 2006 as his wife, who at the time of this interview, would have been around 16. J.D.3 was expecting to be taken by Baitman. but did not want to go with him. J.D.3 is also a daughter of Moronai and Julia. After Bateman took J.D.3, he took J.D.5, a daughter of Maronai with A.B., born in 2007,

who would have been around 15 at the time of this interview. Bateman next took J.D.4, born in 2009, the last daughter of Maronai and Julia. J.D.4 would have been around 13 at the time of this interview. J.D.4 went silent after Bateman took her as a wife. Julia tried to comfort J.D.4 and said she could tell Bateman she didn't want to be with him. Julia allowed J.D.4 to sleep in the room with Julia, but Bateman made J.D.4 sleep in his room with him and rebuked Julia for hindering J.D.4 from her godly duties. I don't know if you can tell, but I'm actually physically disgusted at this as I'm reading it. This is one of the hardest things I've read in quite some time.

But from this point on, the allegations from Julia just get worse, because there is courtmen. paperwork that was filed against Bateman, and it gives us even more details about some of the alleged misconduct by Bateman and his followers that the documentary didn't necessarily dig into, and I'm going to warn you, it is not easy to listen to, okay? Quote, while in Lincoln, Nebraska, Bateman directed Moroni to call Julian, have her bring B, B, B, B, B, B, Barlow, AB, 2, and J.D7, born in 2008, and would have a been around 14 at the time of this interview are all sisters. M.G. is the adult daughter of Moroni and has a baby with Bateman. Bateman and Moroni were lying naked on the two beds.

Bateman had the three ladies take off their clothes and join the men. Bateman talked about Father Adam and Mother Eve and how in heaven people watch them engage in sexual acts. Bateman had Moroni and Julia have sex in front of Beebe and MJ, Moroni and Julia's daughter to teach them how to better pleasure Bateman. Another allegation from Julia is that Bateman allegedly gave one of Moronai's wives to Liddell Jr. in order to sexually comfort him over the fact his own wife married Bateman.

Now, before that, Bateman allegedly sent two of Julia Maronai's minor daughters to sexually comfort Lidale Jr. Here's another sexual allegation mentioned by Julia that involved the motel in late 2020. quote, Bateman decided he needed to complete the binding of Brothers Act. At Bateman's direction, the following people went to a motel room. Bateman, B.B. Barlow, both minors.

Moroni and Julia's daughters, MJ and Johnson, a minor at the time. Moroni, Julia Z.B., Liddell Jr., and G.B., who is now Ladell Jr.'s. Julia described everyone was naked. Bateman brought wine and drank it despite the FLDS religion not condoning the consumption of alcohol. The rest of that encounter is just way too graphic to even describe, but it goes on to basically say that Bateman's wives, including several minors engaged in sex acts with him and later shared a bed with Bateman that same night. Now, the criminal complaint continues with Julia telling the FBI about alleged statements Bateman made to her, including this one, quote,

Bateman told Julia he had Torrance, one of his adult male followers with JD7 born in 2008, so she would have been around 14 at the time of the interview and Torrens performed sexual acts on her. Bateman also had Marone I.B. with L.B.2, also a minor sexually and Liddell Jr. with Bisline, formally referenced as N.B. Bateman said he watched these sexual acts. Bateman made the men do these sexual acts as an atonement for their wicked deeds. Julia knew this incident was referred to as the Atonement. Now, in addition to sex acts in large groups, Julia described other lewd behavior. She reportedly observed within this community, quote, Julia learned that Bateman required the women and girls to remove their traditional long underwear worn to protect their bodies and

virtue after they engaged in sexual acts with or in front of Bateman. Bateman said since they were now of purity and obedience, they did not need the protection of long underwear. Julia did the laundry in the house and all the girls had gotten rid of their long underwear, including the girls under the age of 15. The girls started wearing red lacy underpants. Julia has witnessed Bateman when the girls would ride in the front seat of the vehicle reach over and touch their breasts. Specifically, Bateman touched the breasts of her daughter, J.D.4, born in 2009, so it would have been around 13 at the time of the interview. Bateman would also reach over and touch the girls on their thighs. The girls were also required to touch Bateman.

And now we know eventually on August 28, 22, Bateman was arrested by the Arizona Department of Public Safety for Child Endangerment. The whole incident was caught on police body cam footage. This was also walked through during the Netflix special. And this particular incident stem from people spotting a set of hands atop of the doors of a box trailer that was hitched to the back of Bateman's vehicle. Officers later learned at least three minor girls were riding unsecured in the trailer. Come over here, please. I'm gonna get that knife officer, okay? Any other weapons on you?

No. Okay. Come over here, please. Nothing else on you? Phones. Um... What's that reaching your pockets? What's that? What's your name, sir?

Samuel. No, what are you saying about pockets? Do you have any other weapons on you? Please don't reach in your pockets. Just let me... We're out here because there is supposed to be people back. How many other people are in the truck? truck? I need information I did.

I can and will be able to get some. Well, I just want to know who's inside the truck right now so that way I know who else we're dealing with here. Or else when I can call everybody out. As you can see, it's a pretty serious deal here, sir. Samuel what? I'm asking for your name. Sir, what is your name?

Samuel what? Is he the driver? Yeah. You have to identify yourself. You understand that, right? I don't know. I just want to, yeah, Samuel Bateman. Samuel Bateman.

I don't understand what are you doing? We're trying to make sure people. I just got here. Explain to me what's going on. I'm fine. Just guess you're going to go. Yeah, that's fine. Yeah.

Stuff? Your data verse, sir. Go ahead, sir. Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back. Put your hands behind your back. Let's not do this right now, huh?

You were being detained until you identify yourself. You are being detained until you identify yourself. Yes, you have to identify yourself. You are being detained for a crime. We're still putting you in handcuffs, so just sit tight. This is the police. We're going to be opening the... I want your hands empty. We'll suffer the consequences. Again, this is the police. Pull down, pull down the handle.

Let's get that other door open. There's hands sticking out of the top of the trailer. There's hand sticking out of the top of the trailer early. Behind the car. Behind the curtain. Okay, keep your hands up for me. Going walk out towards me, okay? Try not to slip, all right?

Just keep walking. Is there anybody else inside the trailer? No? Perfect. With your siblings, okay? 14, how old are you? 11? How old are you?

12? How old are you? Are you? Are you from, Sam? I don't know. Okay. Okay. All right now I'm not saying.

Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Inside the trailer, first responders find a sofa, some camping chairs, a makeshift toilet. And while Bateman was in jail, law enforcement said he tried to get his followers to delete his signal account, the mobile messenger app that he used to communicate with his wives and followers. And at the time, law enforcement took his phone away from him. So Bateman actually was bailed out a few days later on September 1st and in the Netflix documentary,

you see that Christine and Tolga actually picked him up from the jail. During the recorded car ride, remember they're working with law enforcement. Bateman asked Tolga how he could factory reset his cell phone at home or through the phone's providers. And according to official filings, this act in his proof that he was trying to tamper with evidence. And he was indicted on related charges five days later. The biggest moment in the Netflix documentary came when Christine and Tolga developed a plan to help the FBI raid the short, community. They convinced Bateman to participate in a one-on-one interview about his spiritual journey for the documentary at a separate studio, keeping him and his wives away from the

properties. And on the second day of those interviews, September 13, 2022, the FBI conducts this raid. And the moment they went to arrest Bateman was also caught on film. Following day, nine minor females were taken into child protective custody. They were forensically interviewed and they were placed in group homes pending dependency proceedings. And the criminal complaint said that at first the girls didn't disclose Bateman's sexual abuse, though at least one of them did apparently admit to being present and partially nude for one of the sexual orgies that we previously mentioned. But eventually, in November of 2022, investigators received a tip that one of the minors did disclose sexual abuse by Bateman while in the group home. The detective also mentioned she sees journals during the search warrants detailing some of the girls sleeping with Bateman, kissing him, touching him.

And during the Netflix special, it has also revealed eight of the nine minor children ran away from the group homes on November 27, 2022 with the orchestrated help of Bateman and several adult wives. Four days later, the miners were found in a vehicle driven by one of Bateman's adult wives in Spokane, Washington. Seven of Bateman's adult wives were convicted of crimes, including coercing children into sexual activity and interfering with the investigation into Bateman. All three male followers, Moroni Johnson, Torrance Bislane, and Liddell Bislane Jr. They were convicted and sentenced to decades in prison for their own child sex crimes and connection to Bateman's operation. When you make a mistake, just own up to her. Say, yeah, hey, I made a mistake. Sorry about that. One of Bateman's most devout wives who was also included in the documentary, Naomi Bisslane also served prison time, but has since been released and has left the FLDS church.

Hi, everyone. I'm Noams from the documentary, Trust Me, the False Prophet on Netflix. I wanted to come on here and thank you all so much for the support I've been receiving. I didn't expect it to be this much, but thank you. It means a lot to me. For Bateman, he pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping in on April 1st, 24. And he was sentenced to 50 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release. Christine Marie shared a video on TikTok responding to this Netflix special. Now, by the way, in the top 10 shows in the U.S. I want to give a heartfelt shout out to everybody who has reached out in love and kindness. And for all your support, for the entire world that is watching this docus series, trust me, the false prophet, and responding with love and empathy, particularly for the people

that are in the series, including those who have not yet walked away from the false prophet. It's incredible. The lack of victim shaming and the outpouring. of support for everybody. I'm just overwhelmed and I just can't thank you enough. And Christine and Toga say they plan to continue their work within the FLDS community. That's all we have for you right now here on Sidebar, everybody. Thank you so much for joining us as always.

Please subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you should get your podcast. You can also check us out on NBC's Peacock as well. If you want to follow me, X Instagram, my News Nation show, Jesse Weber Live, Monday through Friday, 11 p.m. Eastern. I'll see you next time, everybody. ...toe... ...their... ...you know...