US3 min(s) read
Published 10:02 28 Jun 2026 GMT
A polygamous sect leader who is already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence has now been convicted on additional child abuse charges after three young girls were found inside an unventilated trailer he was towing through Arizona.
Samuel Bateman was found guilty on three counts of child abuse on Friday after a jury heard evidence surrounding a 2022 traffic stop near Flagstaff.
The case began when a passerby reportedly noticed small fingers reaching through gaps in the trailer doors and alerted authorities.
When police stopped Bateman's vehicle in August 2022, they discovered three girls, aged between 11 and 14, inside the enclosed trailer.
According to prosecutors, the trailer contained a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs, but had little ventilation despite the hot conditions.
Bateman, who represented himself during the trial, denied intentionally putting the girls in danger.
Taking the stand in his own defence, he told jurors he would never harm the people he loved.
He acknowledged that the girls had spent hours inside the trailer and admitted ventilation was poor, but downplayed the conditions.
"I just trusted myself as a driver," Bateman said during testimony.
"I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle."
He also claimed he believed the girls had exited the trailer during a stop and said he was "as shocked as could possibly be" when officers informed him they were still inside when he was pulled over.
Prosecutors strongly disputed that account.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors: "It's common sense that you don't carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation."
The jury took around 40 minutes to reach a verdict, finding Bateman guilty on all three counts.
The conviction comes as Bateman is already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence in a separate case.
Federal prosecutors previously accused the self-proclaimed prophet of orchestrating sexual abuse involving children and coercing girls as young as nine into sexual acts with himself and other members of his group.
Authorities also alleged he participated in a scheme to kidnap girls from protective custody.
That case later became the focus of the Netflix documentary series Trust Me: The False Prophet.
According to federal court records, Bateman once claimed to have more than 20 "spiritual wives", including multiple girls under the age of 18.
Bateman led an offshoot group linked to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a polygamous sect historically associated with the neighbouring communities of Colorado City and Hildale near the Arizona-Utah border.
He was previously considered a follower of Warren Jeffs, who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault offences.
Bateman is due to be sentenced on the latest convictions on August 25.
.jpeg_gvSFDw?tr=cr-0.124.479.393,f-webp,q-70,w-525,h-200)
3 min(s) read
us6 min(s) read
us3 min(s) read
us3 min(s) read
us3 min(s) read
us3 min(s) read
Published 14:28 09 Jun 2026 GMT
A jailed Mormon cult leader continues to exert control over some of his child "brides" and devoted followers despite serving a 50-year prison sentence.
Samuel Bateman is a self-proclaimed prophet and former leader within the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS).
His rise and fall is the subject of the Netflix series, Trust Me: The False Prophet, which shows how the 50-year-old took 20 "wives", including girls as young as nine years old, convinced followers he spoke for God, and ultimately ended up behind bars.
.jpeg_gvSFDw?tr=cr-0.0.479.599,f-webp,q-70,w-1024)
Bateman rose to prominence after former FLDS leader Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison in 2011.
The Netflix series features footage gathered by cult researcher Christine Marie and her husband, videographer Tolga Katas, who documented Bateman's inner circle as his influence grew. Their material helped investigators build a case against him.
Federal prosecutors later accused the leader of sexually abusing children and manipulating followers for years.
He was arrested after police discovered him towing a trailer containing multiple women and three girls aged between 11 and 14.
"Through coercion and manipulation, Bateman regularly forced his victims to participate with him in individual and group sexual activities with adults and other children," the Department of Justice said in a press release.
"He gave one of the victims to an adult male follower to be sexually abused, and on another occasion, transmitted a live video stream of child sexual abuse to his followers. Bateman and others transported the victims between states to facilitate the sexual abuse, which continued until Bateman’s arrest on federal charges in September 2022," they added.
In April 2024, Bateman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
He was sentenced later that year to 50 years in federal prison followed by lifetime supervised release.
Despite being locked up, Bateman continues to influence some of the women who still consider him their prophet.
According to Marie, his regular contact with loyal followers helps keep them under his influence.
"That communication with him is like an IV of indoctrination," she said, per The Mirror. "It's like they’re getting fed certainty right into their veins - their belief that he is talking to God."
Some followers have even described Bateman as a martyr, believing his imprisonment only reinforces his position within the group.
Court documents revealed Bateman continued trying to direct followers after his arrest. He was accused of calling some of his wives and instructing them to send "intimidating messages" to a government witness.
After prison officials restricted his phone privileges, prosecutors alleged the leader tried to get around the rules by using another inmate's PIN.
His wives were also accused of creating new email addresses and obtaining new phone numbers to continue communicating with him.
Federal court documents also alleged Bateman engaged in inappropriate conversations with children while in custody.
It was disclosed that he allegedly referred to a 13-year-old girl identified as Jane Doe 4 as a "sexy darling" and asked if she remembered their "sacred times" together.
He was also accused of having inappropriate conversations with a 16-year-old girl identified as Jane Doe 11.
"Despite Bateman's knowledge that his non-legal communications are monitored, he brazenly engaged in explicit sexual conversations with children, including with 13-year-old Jane Doe 4," prosecutors wrote.
At the time, he was banned from communicating with the girl.
After the underage girls considered to be Bateman's wives were removed from his custody and placed under state protection, the leader conspired with followers to take them back.
Eight girls later disappeared from foster care and were found hundreds of miles away in Washington state, inside a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.
Bateman later admitted his role in the kidnapping scheme. Seven of his adult wives have since been convicted of crimes related to coercing children into abuse or obstructing the investigation.
Psychotherapist Gillie Jenkinson, who has spent more than 30 years working with former cult members, says Bateman's continuing influence is not unusual.
"Whether you're born into it or whether you join it as an adult, they do a job on you with your identity, because you have to be the person they want you to be," she told the Mirror. "They're having to obey, comply, they're terrified, and they're, you know, submissive."
She explained that cult leaders isolate followers from outside influences while teaching them that doubt is sinful.
"That internal conversation gets suppressed, and it's a control of, so the leadership controls that internal communication. So you start monitoring yourself, this is doubt, doubt is a sin. So you can't have an internal conversation with yourself," she said.
Jenkinson said recovery is possible, but it often takes time.
Marie told Netflix's Tudum that the first step is breaking contact with Bateman altogether.
"Once they break from him and from the other people who believe in him, then they can say, 'Wait, maybe I'm not so certain. Maybe he did make all this up so that he could get money, power, and sex - like every other cult leader,'" she said.
"Those women deserve a life of freedom. They deserve to find true love. They deserve to know what reality is. You can’t be free if you’re living in a world of fiction," she added.
Published 13:44 01 Nov 2025 GMT
An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to murder and child abuse charges after leaving his two-year-old daughter in a car that reached 109 degrees while he played video games inside his home.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, entered guilty pleas this week to second-degree murder and intentional child abuse likely to cause death or serious physical injury. The plea came just days before his trial was scheduled to begin.
Scholtes had previously rejected a plea deal that would have required him to plead guilty only to the murder charge and could have resulted in a prison sentence of 10 to 25 years. By rejecting that deal and accepting this one, he now faces a prison sentence of 20 to 30 years without the possibility of early release.
On July 9, 2024, Scholtes returned home after running errands with his youngest daughter. According to court documents (obtained by People), he left the toddler in the car parked in the family’s driveway, with the air conditioning running, while he went inside to play video games.
Body camera footage showed Scholtes telling Marana Police Department officers that he left the child in her car seat because she had fallen asleep. He told officers he was distracted and forgot she was still in the vehicle.
The complaint stated that the air conditioning would have shut off after 30 minutes because Scholtes’ vehicle automatically powers down. The temperature inside the car was recorded at 109 degrees Fahrenheit.
Investigators also learned from court documents that Scholtes allegedly used the PlayStation console during that time to search for p**nography. However, earlier this month, the judge ruled that this information could not be presented during trial.
The child’s mother discovered the toddler in the vehicle when she arrived home, roughly three hours after Scholtes had returned. She immediately called emergency services, but it was too late.
The complaint also includes statements from the couple’s older daughters, who were 6 and 9 years old at the time. Both allegedly told police that their father had previously left them alone in the car.
In a text message sent to Scholtes as their daughter was being rushed to the hospital, his wife wrote: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you?”
Scholtes was initially released on bail and prohibited from having unsupervised contact with children. He was later granted permission to travel to Hawaii with his wife and surviving daughters before trial.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 21. Scholtes is required to turn himself in by November 3. His attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
Published 11:38 13 Nov 2025 GMT
The Arizona father convicted of letting his two-year-old daughter die inside a sweltering car took his own life in a disturbingly parallel fashion - by suffocating in his vehicle just hours before starting a decades-long prison sentence.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, was discovered dead around 5AM on November 5 in the garage of the Phoenix home he shared with his wife, Dr. Erika Scholtes. According to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner, his suspected cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning, though it has not been officially confirmed. The car he died in was not the same one in which his daughter, Parker, had lost her life.
Scholtes had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in October. He was due to begin serving a sentence of up to 30 years the very day after he ended his life.
Back in July 2024, Scholtes left Parker trapped inside the family vehicle for more than three hours while temperatures outside hit a scorching 109 degrees. Instead of tending to his daughter, the father of four stayed inside the house, where he drank beer, watched porn and played video games.
When Parker’s mother arrived home, she found her daughter’s body. Scholtes initially told officers he had only left the child alone for 45 minutes, but also admitted he knew the car’s engine and air conditioner would shut off automatically after 30 minutes. That detail alone suggests he was aware of the fatal danger.
Pima County Attorney Laura Conover said, “This little girl’s voice was nearly silenced because justice was not served appropriately this morning.”
Scholtes’ oldest daughter, a 17-year-old from a previous marriage, filed a lawsuit shortly before his death. She claimed he had been leaving her alone in hot cars since she was “younger than 7,” accusing him of both neglect and physical abuse.
Her lawsuit also alleged that he falsified a conservatorship to access government assistance in her name, The New York Post reported.
“As a result, Plaintiff suffered severe emotional distress, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideations, post traumatic stress, and long-term psychological harm,” the suit read.
Investigators were also told by his other children that he often left them in the car while he went inside the house. His own wife had pleaded with him to stop the dangerous behavior after Parker’s death. “I told you to stop leaving them in the car,” she texted him. “How many times have I told you?”
Scholtes responded, “Babe, I’m sorry. Babe, our family. How could I do this? I killed our baby, this can’t be real.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
Published 09:58 25 Oct 2025 GMT
A dad who left his two-year-old child for over three hours to die in a hot car while he played video games and drank beer has pleaded guilty to murder.
Christopher Scholtes, 38, entered guilty pleas at Pima County Court in Arizona on Wednesday to second-degree murder and intentional child abuse.
It came about after the father left daughter, Parker, inside his 2023 Acura MDX parked in the driveway of his Tucson home after getting back from shopping on July 9 last year.
He claimed it was only for 30 minutes and the air conditioning was on to counteract the searing 109-degree temperature that day, insisting he left her there because he didn’t want to wake her.
But court documents later revealed Christopher had been inside for over three hours – allegedly searching pornography on his Playstation, although the judge in the case issued an order stating this information could not be introduced at trial – before his wife, Erika, came home to find their daughter unconscious in the car.
Parker was pronounced dead an hour later at Banner University Medical Center.
Court documents showed Erika then sent her husband a flurry of texts alleging this has happened before, saying: “I told you to stop leaving them in the car, How many times have I told you?”
Christopher reportedly replied: “Babe, I’m sorry. Babe, our family. How could I do this? I killed our baby, this can’t be real."
He was arrested on July 12 and charged with second-degree murder and child abuse.
Investigators later interviewed the two surviving daughters, who were six and 10 at the time, and both alleged their father had previously left them alone in the car, according to the complaint.
Christopher initially rejected a plea deal in March, which would have only required him to plead guilty to the murder charge and meant he would have faced 10 to 25 years in prison.
Then on Wednesday, just days before the trial was due to begin, he entered the two guilty pleas and will now face 20 to 30 years in prison, without the possibility of early release.
A trial could have resulted in a life sentence or even the death penalty, according to People.
The Pima County Attorney’s Office said in a statement: “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our prosecutors, victim advocates, [and] staff for their collaboration with local law enforcement on this complicated and high-profile case.
“This is yet another reminder to the community that the Pima County Attorney’s Office will do everything we can to get justice for victims and prosecute those who have caused harm to others, especially those who are most vulnerable.”
Christopher was reportedly released after the court appearance this week and must turn himself in to authorities on November 3, ahead of sentencing on November 21.
Published 09:46 06 Nov 2025 GMT
An Arizona man who was awaiting sentencing for the death of his two-year-old daughter after leaving her in a hot car has been found dead, in what authorities believe may have been a suicide.
Christopher Ryan Scholtes, 38, was due to be sentenced to decades behind bars after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his daughter, Parker. However, he failed to appear at a court hearing on Wednesday – the same day his body was discovered inside a Phoenix home, according to ABC 15.
Police are now investigating his death as a possible suicide. Scholtes had faced a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison, without the possibility of parole, with his hearing scheduled for November 21, according to AZFamily.
The tragic case dates back to July of last year, when Parker was found dead in the driveway of the family’s home during a brutal heatwave. Temperatures had reached 109 degrees Fahrenheit (42 degrees Celsius) that day.
Christopher Scholtes. Credit: Pima County
Investigators later determined that Parker had been strapped into her car seat for nearly three and a half hours while her father remained inside the house. During that time, Scholtes was reportedly drinking alcohol, playing video games, and watching adult content.
Authorities said the toddler was only discovered after Scholtes’ wife returned home and reminded him via text message to stop leaving their children in the car.
During the investigation, Scholtes’ two surviving children told police that their father regularly left them all inside the car while he was at home. According to AZFamily, one of the children said Scholtes “got distracted by playing his game and putting his food away” on the day Parker died.
The shocking admissions seemed to highlight a pattern of neglect that prosecutors said ultimately cost the toddler her life.
Credit: Pima county
Initially, Scholtes rejected a plea agreement offered by prosecutors. However, after reconsideration, he accepted the deal earlier this year and entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder.
Under the terms of that plea, he faced a minimum of 16 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. He was awaiting formal sentencing when he was found dead.
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office has confirmed that an autopsy will be conducted, with the official report expected within 90 days. Authorities have not released additional details about how Scholtes died but confirmed that preliminary findings point to suicide.
The case had already drawn widespread outrage and sorrow across Arizona, highlighting the dangers of leaving children in vehicles, even for short periods. According to child safety advocates, temperatures inside a parked car can rise by 20 degrees within ten minutes, quickly becoming lethal for small children.
For Parker’s grieving family, Scholtes’ death brings an abrupt and painful close to a case that has haunted the community for more than a year.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org.
.webp_ke6C2y?tr=cr-169.8.1505.1344,f-webp,q-70,w-1024)
.webp_SmgFsc?tr=cr-292.0.1244.952,f-webp,q-70,w-1024)
.webp_ke6C2y?tr=cr-169.8.1505.1344,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
.webp_SmgFsc?tr=cr-292.0.1244.952,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
