Polygamous sect leader serving 50 years for child sex abuse gets another 24 years

Samuel Bateman, 50, is convicted of three state child abuse counts after previous conviction on federal counts A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was given another 24 years in prison Tuesday on separate state convictions for child abuse for hauling girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.

Samuel Bateman, 50, was convicted of three child abuse counts stemming from an August 2022 traffic stop in Flagstaff that led to the discovery of three girls, aged 11 to 14, in the trailer.

It had a makeshift toilet, sofa and camping chairs and lacked air conditioning and seat belts.

Someone tipped off authorities about the trailer after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors.

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