Arizona woman sentenced in FLDS child exploitation case

Arizona Republic/December 3, 2024

By Miguel Torres

Naomi Bistline was sentenced Monday in a Phoenix federal courtroom in connection with the exploitation of girls by a self-proclaimed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Bistline, 26, pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to tamper with an official proceeding, months after Samuel Bateman, of Colorado City, a town on the Utah border, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport a minor for sex and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. In his plea agreement, Bateman acknowledged that he arranged group sex with his followers and children he called his brides.

"During my time in custody, I often found myself looking for a second chance, despite realizing I had never truly been given a first," said Bistline to U.S. District Judge Susan Brnovich. Bistline became one of Bateman’s "spiritual" wives in 2020, according to court records.

After Bateman was arrested in August 2022, several girls were taken into Arizona Department of Child Services custody. Bistline and others were accused by law enforcement of unlawfully removing the girls from state custody.

Brnovich sentenced Bistline to time served — 21 months. The judge said that while Bistline’s crimes were severe, Bistline had endured significant hardship that influenced her actions and mental state.

Brnovich said that Bistline’s testimony during the trial of two of Bateman’s followers, LaDell Bistline Jr. and Torrance Bistline, highlighted her trauma.

During that trial, Bistline told the court that Bateman had brainwashed her and that she had been loyal to him even after her arrest. She also testified that Bateman ordered her and other women to perform sexual acts as part of "atonement" ceremonies and that Bateman ordered her and a 14-year-old girl to have sex with LaDell Bistline Jr. and Torrance Bistline, with Bateman warning Torrance Bistline not to make the girl pregnant.

Brnovich ordered Naomi Bistline to continue mental health treatment.

"At this point in time, you've separated yourself from the FLDS; you've enrolled in school. Most importantly is that you've engaged in mental health counseling, which seems to have been beneficial. It was clearly needed, not only just because of the manipulation and pressure that you were under as a child but because of the trauma that you testified about, especially during the 'atonement' that was testified about," Brnovich said.

In October, LaDell Bistline Jr. and Torrance Bistline were both found guilty by a jury on multiple counts.

Bateman's sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 9, LaDell Bistline Jr.'s for Dec. 16, and Torrance Bistline's for Dec. 20.

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