ST. GEORGE —Legal problems continue to mount for the leader of a sect of the polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints based in Colorado City, Arizona, after he failed to report a felony child abuse case filed in Coconino County Superior Court in Arizona.
Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 46, of Colorado City, has remained in jail since his arrest following an FBI raid in Colorado City in September.
The incident that set the federal case in motion came in the form of a traffic stop on Aug. 28, along a highway in Flagstaff, Arizona, where several young girls were found in an enclosed trailer. An FBI raid turned up additional evidence, prosecutors said, and Bateman was charged with obstruction of justice in federal court, while an Arizona child welfare agency removed nine children from the homes that were later placed in protective custody, AZ Central says.
Bateman pleaded not guilty in U.S. Magistrate Court in Flagstaff on the federal case, while three second-degree felony charges were filed in Coconino Superior Court against Bateman, according to court documents. Last month, his bond was increased to $250,000 in state court, where the judge also ruled that Bateman was prohibited from contacting any of the victims.
On Tuesday, Bateman was back in Coconino County Superior Court where Judge Fanny Steinlage exonerated the defendant’s bond, meaning bail was no longer required in the case.
That ruling came in the wake of a federal court ruling to continue Bateman’s detention while his federal case is processed. So, either way, the defendant will remain in jail on a federal hold.
The federal court’s decision was based on the defendant having “a group of followers willing to provide extensive material and other assistance on short notice,” which is the same group that authorities say they believe is involved in the destruction of evidence.
Moreover, federal court documents also indicate that Bateman is an admitted pilot and “survivalist,” which raised concerns regarding his ability to flee. Also of concern was the amount of evidence against him, which was “great,” federal prosecutors say, and the case carries with it a significant sentence – up to 60 years in prison.
In addition, federal prosecutors also allege that Bateman recently instructed his followers to obtain passports for the young girls and women in his group “for reasons that are unclear,” and the evidence suggests the defendant had likely established contacts and followers in a foreign country and had traveled abroad in the past three years.
The evidence also left the court with “little reason to believe” that Bateman would follow any court orders or appear on the charges. And in addition to the underlying obstruction charges in the federal investigation, the court also found concerns regarding the safety of “the young girls” and his lack of concern for any laws.
The court also found that Bateman’s criminal history, including the arrest in August, wherein girls were being transported to “an unknown location in an enclosed trailer” by the defendant – something prosecutors suspect he has done before – also placed the community at risk.
The federal trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 10, 2023, and will be held at the U.S. District Court in Flagstaff. A trial date has yet to be set on the child abuse case filed in Coconino County Superior Court and Bateman remains in federal custody at the Coconino County Jail at this time.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.