Arizona jury convicts 2 brothers of aiding FLDS prophet’s ‘child brides’ scheme

Arizona Family/Associated Press/October 2, 2024

Colorado City, Arizona — Two Colorado City men who are followers of the polygamous FLDS sect have been convicted of multiple charges after a years-long conspiracy involving child sex abuse that prosecutors say spanned multiple states and victimized nearly a dozen children.

On Wednesday, a federal jury in Arizona found LaDell Jay Bistline, Jr., 45, guilty of child porn, sex trafficking young girls, and recruiting victims for the group’s leader, Samuel Bateman. His brother, Torrance Bistline, 36, was found guilty of child sex abuse.

In his plea, Bateman, 48, acknowledged taking underage brides, having sex activity with them and arranging group sex, sometimes involving child brides. The agreement recommends a prison sentence of 20 to 50 years, though one of his convictions carries a possible maximum sentence of life.

Businessman Moroni Johnson of Colorado City pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of conspiring with Bateman to transport underage girls over state lines.

The FBI said Bateman had taken more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18. Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the “Heavenly Father.”

Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had sex with minor girls on a regular basis.

Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.

The FBI said Bateman demanded that his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and shared those confessions widely. He claimed the punishments, which ranged from a timeout to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said.

Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because Johnson wasn’t treating Bateman as a prophet.

Authorities say Bateman created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.

He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.

Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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