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PHOENIX — The leader of an offshoot polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transport underage girls across state lines in what authorities say was a yearslong scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children.
Authorities say Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet who had taken more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18, created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again the next month and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity. He is the second man to be convicted as part of the scheme. Businessman Moroni Johnson of Colorado City pleaded guilty last month to a charge of conspiring with Bateman to transport underage girls over state lines.
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