Another chapter seems to have been closed in what seems to be an ongoing battle with the FLDS continous abusive polygamist practices in Utah and Arizona.
On Tuesday, a man pleaded guilty to conspiring with the leader of an extreme polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border to transport underage girls across state lines.
Moroni Johnson, 53, acknowledges that he participated in a scheme to transport four girls under the age of 18 for sexual activity. Authorities say the conspiracy between the Johnson and the sect’s leader, self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman, occurred over a three-year period.
Authorities report that Bateman had created a extensive network crossing at least four states as he worked to start an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The strict religious operation has been primarily based in the adjacent 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. Even though the religion stopped the practice of polygamy in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it, several off shoots of the religion have been created. Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. Many documentaries and investigations have proven that the religion sect has brought pain and suffering to many of the young woman forced to practice the religion.
An FBI investigation has discovered that leader Bateman had taken more than 20 wives, which include 10 girls under the age of 18. In addition, Bateman is accused of bestowing wives as gifts, many who have been under age and have been reportedly forced to marry his faithful male followers. He has claimed that the act in doing so are orders from the “Heavenly Father.” The investigative reports say Bateman traveled significantly 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.
In the FBI investigation, it was found that Bateman required his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and he used those confessions against them. He also shared those confessions with others. Bateman would initiate punishments, for the followers wrongdoings which ranged from a basic time out, brutal public shaming and even forced sexual activity. Bateman claimed that all punishments were messages handed down from the Lord. When in actuality it was just a man with a God complex and power forcing his sadistic control over people who have been brainwashed into believing this form of religion is the answer. FBI officials said Johnson was forced by Bateman to turn over three of his wives as atonement because Johnson wasn’t respecting Bateman as a prophet.
Bateman was arrested in 2022 by police in Flagstaff after someone reported seeing small fingers in a door gap on an enclosed trailer on the road. Authorities discovered three young girls, who were reportedly Bateman’s wives, were between the ages of 11 and 14 in the trailer. The girls were forced to travel in the trailer on a long road trip with a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs, with no ventilation. Bateman and several of his wives were engaging in the transportation of minors in interstate commerce to engage in criminal sexual activity and travel interstate commerce to engage in illicit sexual conduct with minors. Bateman was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sept. 6.
At the time of the arrest, nine children were removed from Bateman’s home in Colorado City and placed in foster care. Eight of the children later “escaped” from foster care. FBI believe that three of Bateman’s adult wives orchestrated a plan move the children out of Arizona. Authorities found the girls hundreds of miles away in Washington state in a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.
Bateman has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including conspiracy to transport a minor for sexual activity, conspiracy to commit tampering in an official proceeding and conspiracy to commit kidnapping of the girls who were placed in state child welfare agency after his arrest. He has been ordered to remain in jail until the completion of his trial which is scheduled for Sept. 10.
Four of Bateman’s adult wives have pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding, acknowledging that they witnessed Bateman engage in sexual acts with his child brides. In addition to participating in the plot to kidnap the eight girls from state custody.
Moroni Johnson faces 10 years to life in prison if found guilty
