Arizona polygamous cult leader had 20 wives, including his own daughter, FBI says

According to the previously cited outlet, the agents looked for evidence of marriages under minors or sexual relations between adults and children. However, the suspect’s family told investigators in early 2019 that he felt an impulse to take his own daughter as one of his wives.

Although Bateman has not been formally charged with sexual abuse, the affidavit states that the FBI has unfounded grounds to believe that he and others transported minors between Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Nebraska, to engage in unlawful sexual activity between May 2019 and November 2022.

Since 2019, Bateman began to proclaim himself a prophet, and won around 2019 followers and over 15 wives, most of them under years, according to the affidavit presented by the FBI Special Agent Dawn A. Martin.

The affidavit added that Agent Martin was provided with audio recordings of conversations in 2022 in which Bateman told three adult male followers that “Heavenly Father” instructed him to “give the most precious thing you have: the virtue of their daughters.”

Later, Bareman allegedly saw the three adults having sexual relations with their daughters, and one of them was only years old, the affidavit added.

In the recording, he allegedly said that his daughters had “sacrificed their virtue for the Lord”, and that “God will fix their bodies and put the membrane back on their bodies. I have never been more confident in doing his bidding. It’s all for love.”

The affidavit was filed Friday in federal court in Spokane, Washington state, where the Arizona Department of Child Safety removed eight girls from the home of the suspect, reported New York Post.