A new Netflix true crime doc goes inside the takedown of the self-proclaimed prophet.

Where is Samuel Bateman now? What’s become of the polygamist sect leader in The False Prophet

A new Netflix true crime doc goes inside the takedown of the self-proclaimed prophet.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

April 9, 2026 6:14 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Samuel Bateman, as seen in 'Trust Me: The False Prophet'. Credit:

For the second time, Netflix and director Rachel Dretzin are chronicling abuse within an offshoot group of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) in Short Creek, Utah.

After 2022's *Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey* documented the rise and fall of the community's former corrupt leader, Warren Jeffs, the new true crime series *Trust Me: The False Prophet* shows how a community member managed to anoint himself as the next chosen one.

Directed by Dretzin, *False Prophet* began in earnest with Christine Marie, a former fundamentalist who became an expert in cults, and her videographer husband, Tolga Katas, moving to Short Creek and embedding themselves amongst the local sect.

Katas recorded all of their efforts to help the members of the floundering FLDS, as they were still clinging to Jeffs, who had been arrested in 2006 and sentenced to life in prison for the sexual assault of two underaged girls, both of whom he claimed to be his wives. The power vacuum was eventually filled by Samuel Bateman, who formed an offshoot group.

Marie and Tolgas were soon on the inside of Bateman's ever-growing Samuelite Group, which consisted of three loyal male followers and dozens of wives, including children. The duo got closer and closer to everyone involved, hoping to garner enough evidence to bring in the police and free the women and kids from Bateman's grasp.

Below, we peel back on the layers on the case against Bateman, and share an update on his status today.

Who is Samuel Bateman?

Samuel Bateman for 'Trust Me: The False Prophet'.

Raised FLDS in Short Creek, Bateman wasn't always considered a leader in the community, with one former friend calling him the "joke" of their friend group. Marie, too, wasn't struck by him. "When I first met Sam Bateman, I didn't think much about him," Marie says in *False Prophet*.

When Marie met Bateman in 2017, he was in the process of getting divorced and in dire financial straits. He even asked Marie to help him with his eviction notice. "He was a broken man," Marie added. "People thought of Sam Bateman as kind of a schlub."

A few years later, Bateman returned to the community with a new wife, which was shocking enough given Jeffs' edict from prison that his followers should no longer marry.

Bateman then quickly had another wife, this one being the younger sister of the first. Still, the FLDS offshoot followers of Short Creek weren't prepared for Bateman to soon arrive with a trailer "dripping with women." He'd somehow amassed dozens of wives, and rumors started that he was also married to the children.

The 20 best cult documentaries and docuseries, ranked

The 30 best documentaries on Netflix right now

As later revealed by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bateman abused at least 10 children, some of whom were as young as nine years old. He both sexually assaulted his victims and forced them to engage in sexual acts with other adults, according to prosecutors. He's also said to have transported the girls between states for sexual activity.**

Bateman had crowned himself the successor to Jeffs, telling people that Jeffs had died and been replaced by a mannequin in his cell.

"Sam said, 'I am now Warren Jeffs' messenger, he is giving me this direction from the other side of death,'" Marie recalled. Bateman and his Samuelite Group attracted a small but passionate following that included his many wives and the three men (Moroni Johnson, Torrance Bistline, and LaDell Bistline Jr.) who were both subsidizing his lifestyle and allowing Bateman to marry their spouses and children.

How was Samuel Bateman caught?

Samuel Bateman posing for 'Trust Me: The False Prophet'.

Perhaps looking to further prop himself up as the chosen prophet, Bateman invited Marie and Katas into his home to record, believing that he should be the star of their documentary.

During their time with Bateman and his wives, Marie and Katas collected what they believed to be evidence of child abuse. With this evidence, they began meeting with an FBI agent named Dawn Martin in 2022. They also found an ally inside the FLDS offshoot community in Julia Johnson, Moroni's wife and the mother of four of Bateman's wives, two of whom were underaged.

"None of them went easy to get married to Sam," Moroni and Julia's son Warren Levi says of his sisters in the documentary. "Every one of them referred to him as the devil."

On Aug. 28, 2022, Bateman was arrested while driving several of the girls in a trailer attached to his truck. Authorities were alerted after witnesses spotted small fingers sticking out of the trailer's back door. When officers opened it up, they found three girls inside.

After being bailed out of jail, Bateman was in a panic, attempting to see if he could factory reset his phone, which was in the possession of the police. Katas' video recording of this opened the door for federal obstruction charges against Bateman.

On Sept. 13, with the assistance of Katas and Marie, the FBI raided the Samuelite compound. And while Bateman was easily apprehended (he'd been separated from most of the wives under the pretense of conducting an interview with Katas), many of the women talked as if they wouldn't voluntarily surrender.

"If they try, they die, and we die," one said as agents prepared to enter. Another asked for her pepper spray and an AR-15. They eventually went without resistance, and the FBI uncovered a plethora of evidence, including his journals.

In November, Bateman instructed some of his adult wives to retrieve eight underaged girls from the group homes they were placed in following his arrest. The girls were transported through California and into Spokane, Wash., before law enforcement found them and returned them to Arizona.**

Where is Samuel Bateman now?

Samuel Bateman appears in 'Trust Me: The False Prophet'.

In April 2024, Bateman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. In December of that year, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison, to be followed by a supervised release for the remainder of his life.

Eight of Bateman's wives received sentences related to his crimes. Additionally, Bateman's male followers were also imprisoned.

Moroni Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport a minor for sexual activity and was sentenced to 25 years.

Torrance Bistline was sentenced to 35 years for, among other crimes, aiding in Bateman's conspiracy to transport minors across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

LaDell Bistline Jr. was sentenced to life after being convicted of the receipt of child pornography and transporting a minor for criminal sexual activity, among other charges.

Where can I watch Trust Me: The False Prophet?

*Trust Me: The False Prophet* is now streaming on Netflix.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

- Documentary True Crime Shows

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Documentary”