A polygamous cult member has pleaded guilty to conspiring with a depraved “prophet” to smuggle underage girls across the Arizona-Utah border for sex.
Moroni Johnson, who faces 10 years to life in prison, pleaded guilty Tuesday for his role in the scheme alongside the self-proclaimed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), Samuel Bateman.
Johnson, 53, is the first man to be convicted of the plot which took place over a three-year period ending in September 2022.
This comes after the businessman told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview earlier this year that Bateman took advantage of his deeply held Mormon faith and controlled him with a toxic mix of physical, mental and sexual.
Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because he did not treat the self-proclaimed leader as a prophet.
Moroni Johnson, 51 (above), admitted his role in a scheme to traffic minor girls for sex.
Authorities say the plot was led by the self-proclaimed prophet of a polygamous sect, Samuel Bateman (pictured), who is currently awaiting trial in Arizona.
Bateman remains in custody after being arrested twice earlier this year. He was first apprehended in August after he was caught towing his underage “wives” into a trailer in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Bateman, 46, had created a vast network spanning at least four states as he attempted to create an offshoot of the FLDS, officials said.
The sect is historically based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormon Church, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.
Bateman and his followers believe that polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
The FBI said Bateman took more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18.
Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the “Heavenly Father.”
Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and regularly had sex with underage girls.
Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.
The FBI said Bateman demanded that his supporters publicly confess to any indiscretions and shared those confessions widely.
He claimed the sanctions, which ranged from public punishment to public humiliation and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said.
Johnson told DailyMail.com in January that he allowed the schemer Bateman to marry several of his wives and most of his daughters – and financed his lavish lifestyle which included two sprawling homes in Colorado City, Arizona , and a fleet of Bentley cars.
He claimed to have participated in humiliating rituals on Bateman’s orders and was, on one occasion, forced to have sex with one of his wives in front of their daughters in order to show them how to “please” the evil prophet.
Johnson, 51, told DailyMail.com earlier this year how the depraved Bateman took advantage of his deeply held Mormon faith and controlled him through mental, physical and sexual abuse.
An exclusive photo from DailyMail.com shows Bateman waving from the front seat of one of the Bentley Flying Spurs – which cost more than $200,000 new.
Bateman lived in the Mormon community of Short Creek, where he and his 23 wives lived in two houses – known as the “Blue House” and the “Green House” (photo)
Short Creek encompasses Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah, and is the former headquarters of the FLDS.
Two of Bateman’s many wives, Naomi Bistline and Donnae Barlow, were seen arriving at the federal courthouse in Flagstaff on December 7.
Bateman’s family and supporters gather as he calls from police custody following his arrest in Colorado City on September 13.
The Blue House housed Bateman’s supporters. The wives who were “corrected” were sent to live with Moroni’s daughters, Moretta Johnson and the Bistline brothers, at the blue house.
Bateman is a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) and was once a devout follower of leader Warren Jeffs, 67, who is serving a life sentence for sexually abusing two underage girls.
Bateman was arrested in August 2022 by state police in Flagstaff after someone spotted small fingers in a door slot of an enclosed trailer.
Authorities found three girls – aged 11 to 14 – in the trailer, which had a makeshift toilet, a couch, camping chairs and no ventilation.
Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again the following month and charged with obstruction of justice in a federal investigation into whether children were transported across state lines to sexual purposes.
At the time of the second arrest, authorities removed nine children from Bateman’s Colorado City home and placed them in foster care.
Eight of the children later escaped from foster care. The FBI alleged that three of Bateman’s adult wives played a role in their escape from Arizona.
The girls were later found hundreds of miles away in Washington state in a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.
Bateman has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including conspiracy to transport a minor for sexual activity, conspiracy to tamper with an official proceeding and conspiracy to commit the kidnapping of the girls who were placed in a state child welfare agency following her arrest.
Myles Schneider, an attorney representing Bateman, did not immediately return a call seeking comment on his client’s behalf.
Bateman was sentenced to prison until his trial, now scheduled for September 10, is resolved.
Earlier this year, four of Bateman’s adult wives each pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to tamper with an official proceeding, admitting that they had seen Bateman engage in sexual acts with his child spouses and that they had also participated in the plot to kidnap the eight. girls in state custody.
Charges are also pending against four other women identified as Bateman’s wives and two of his male followers, both accused of using a means of interstate commerce to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, between other charges.
The four women and two men have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.