WEBVTT 00:11.594 --> 00:14.848 Wait, Christine, wait. I'm gonna get you from the front too. 00:14.931 --> 00:16.599 -Okay. -I got it from the back. 00:16.683 --> 00:18.309 All right, this looks good. 00:23.440 --> 00:25.150 In 2016, 00:25.233 --> 00:29.404 my husband and I moved to Short Creek on the Utah-Arizona border. 00:30.697 --> 00:34.034 It's the fundamentalist Mormon version of Mecca. 00:36.286 --> 00:38.747 -You have a call from… -Warren Jeffs. 00:39.914 --> 00:42.000 You may start the conversation now. 00:42.083 --> 00:46.004 At the time, their prophet, Warren Jeffs, was in prison. 00:46.087 --> 00:49.966 Guilty of two counts of felony sexual assault against two girls. 00:51.426 --> 00:53.803 We heard how dangerous this town was. 00:53.887 --> 00:58.558 We heard it was the most reclusive, isolated town in America. 00:58.641 --> 01:00.602 Warren Jeffs may be in prison, 01:00.685 --> 01:03.354 but he's apparently still very much in charge. 01:03.438 --> 01:05.231 Jeffs led the polygamous sect, 01:05.315 --> 01:07.692 the Fundamentalist Church of Latter-day Saints. 01:09.194 --> 01:13.490 But I felt drawn to come here to help these people. 01:14.949 --> 01:17.035 And they said, "We don't need outsider help." 01:17.118 --> 01:18.411 You're trespassing. 01:19.871 --> 01:21.831 Well, guess what? Yes, they did. 01:22.415 --> 01:24.042 Yes, they fucking did. 01:25.043 --> 01:29.798 People who think this story came to an end with Warren going to prison are wrong. 01:30.381 --> 01:35.386 They've left a very vulnerable population wide open to predators. 01:35.470 --> 01:37.597 We didn't know who we could trust. 01:38.389 --> 01:43.728 Sam Bateman saw himself being an heir apparent to Warren Jeffs. 01:44.687 --> 01:46.397 That tells you all you need to know. 01:47.273 --> 01:50.485 Predators don't come in dressed with their horns and their cape. 01:50.568 --> 01:52.862 They come in dressed in their suit and tie. 01:52.946 --> 01:54.906 The only reason I'm rich 01:54.989 --> 01:57.158 is Heavenly Father blessed me with these girls. 01:57.242 --> 01:59.536 Everybody wants to jump in, huh? 02:00.119 --> 02:00.954 He said, 02:01.037 --> 02:04.082 "Are you having temptations to report Samuel to the law?" 02:04.165 --> 02:05.041 What? 02:05.125 --> 02:07.335 Tolga, we have to… I have to turn this tape in. 02:07.418 --> 02:09.879 We're the only ones in, so we gotta get in more. 02:09.963 --> 02:13.174 Yeah, face the curtain. Nice. Stay that way a little bit. 02:14.008 --> 02:16.136 I wasn't there to betray them. 02:16.219 --> 02:18.763 I don't know if it's traitors or what. 02:18.847 --> 02:21.391 I was there to save them. 02:21.891 --> 02:25.395 This is the police! I want your hands above your head! 02:27.313 --> 02:28.731 Are you a prophet? 02:31.192 --> 02:33.611 I would be a liar if I said I wasn't. 03:33.213 --> 03:34.088 Go ahead. 03:36.049 --> 03:37.050 Here we go. 03:41.137 --> 03:42.972 There she goes. 03:45.225 --> 03:46.601 There we go. 03:54.776 --> 03:57.278 We're basically moving to the Crick. 03:57.362 --> 04:00.281 I mean, it is absolutely crazy out here. 04:00.365 --> 04:04.452 Especially for me. I'm a record producer. What the hell am I doing out here? 04:08.581 --> 04:10.750 There we are. We're moving in. 04:10.833 --> 04:12.251 Colorado City. 04:12.335 --> 04:13.253 Gloves off. 04:18.341 --> 04:20.134 Okay, it's makeshift, okay? 04:21.302 --> 04:23.429 We gave up the life of comfort. 04:26.766 --> 04:29.269 For the life among the polygamists. 04:35.358 --> 04:36.567 Go this way. 04:36.651 --> 04:38.236 I'm gonna walk this way. 04:38.861 --> 04:42.198 -Tolga, you go this way. -I'm gonna do ten different shots. 04:42.282 --> 04:44.075 Stop. 04:47.161 --> 04:48.621 When we got here, 04:48.705 --> 04:50.957 we felt like we were in the Wild, Wild West. 04:52.250 --> 04:55.503 There were no outsiders here. I mean, there was maybe one other outside family. 04:55.586 --> 04:57.005 That I knew of. 04:57.588 --> 04:59.924 Hey, buddy. Hey, buddy. 05:00.425 --> 05:05.096 My husband Tolga is a music video producer and a photographer. 05:06.514 --> 05:10.852 And so of course, when we moved to this town, he wanted to document it. 05:12.854 --> 05:13.896 Hold on. 05:13.980 --> 05:14.981 So… 05:15.064 --> 05:18.568 This is where the FLDS community gets their food supplies. 05:18.651 --> 05:20.695 It's not just FLDS. A lot of people come here. 05:20.778 --> 05:24.532 Well, that's true. Right. A lot of people come here. Including… myself. 05:26.784 --> 05:28.494 When Christine came along, 05:28.578 --> 05:31.164 everybody was leery of her 05:31.247 --> 05:34.459 because nobody knew what she was about. 05:34.542 --> 05:37.712 We always had people looking at us like we were a freak show. 05:39.172 --> 05:42.175 So there was a lot of speculation among our people 05:42.258 --> 05:47.055 that they were just here to do something for TV or write a book or something. 05:47.889 --> 05:49.557 We're documenting it all. 05:50.183 --> 05:53.394 They were a very eccentric couple, and it was very odd. 05:54.437 --> 05:55.563 He was from Turkey, 05:55.646 --> 05:58.191 and he had long hair with a little ponytail, 05:58.274 --> 06:01.652 and she was like a little blonde… 06:01.736 --> 06:03.404 …like, Hollywood girl. 06:04.947 --> 06:07.283 She wore a lot of vintage clothing, 06:07.366 --> 06:09.160 which I thought was darling. 06:11.704 --> 06:14.707 But I didn't know for sure why she was here. 06:15.833 --> 06:17.543 Nobody has to buy water here. 06:17.627 --> 06:18.961 It's so beautiful to come up here. 06:19.045 --> 06:22.548 -It's not work. It's like… inspiration. -Yeah, I know. It's true. 06:22.632 --> 06:25.760 I felt a sense of calling 06:26.511 --> 06:28.137 that I wanted to move here. 06:32.392 --> 06:35.019 Long ago, I used to be Mormon. 06:35.895 --> 06:37.355 I was mainstream Mormon, 06:37.438 --> 06:42.485 but I was absolutely zealous and devoted. 06:45.113 --> 06:46.989 Mormons believe in prophets. 06:47.073 --> 06:53.371 And I met a man who persuaded me that he was a modern-day prophet. 06:55.123 --> 06:58.251 And I decided, if this man was a prophet, 06:58.334 --> 07:00.586 I was going to be completely obedient. 07:02.255 --> 07:05.049 I had to do what he said or risk my soul. 07:07.176 --> 07:10.471 Little by little, I got more confused, 07:10.555 --> 07:13.433 and I lost my critical thinking. 07:15.017 --> 07:16.811 Before I knew it, 07:16.894 --> 07:18.646 I was so broken. 07:18.729 --> 07:20.940 I didn't even know who I was anymore. 07:22.817 --> 07:25.278 So I then spent the next decade 07:25.361 --> 07:28.906 reading everything I could about cults. 07:30.450 --> 07:34.579 I became an expert in cult psychology. 07:37.748 --> 07:42.628 I believed that every single person who was FLDS needed to be rescued 07:43.129 --> 07:47.008 from irrational cultic beliefs and brainwashing. 07:48.843 --> 07:51.220 But I felt connected to these people. 07:51.888 --> 07:55.933 So all of this made me believe 07:56.684 --> 07:58.269 that I could be helpful here. 08:00.897 --> 08:02.440 And when I got here, 08:02.523 --> 08:05.735 I learned that the FLDS were floundering. 08:08.070 --> 08:11.407 In the aftermath of Warren Jeffs's incarceration, 08:11.491 --> 08:14.327 the community has really been fraying and fragmenting. 08:16.871 --> 08:20.208 Warren Jeffs wound up in a prison down in Texas. 08:20.291 --> 08:22.043 He's been there a long time. 08:23.669 --> 08:28.007 But I've been around the story long enough to know incarcerating Warren 08:28.090 --> 08:30.426 would do nothing to diminish his power. 08:33.512 --> 08:38.684 Having him in prison doesn't change what he is. 08:38.768 --> 08:42.605 You know, Heavenly Father hasn't appointed another to be the prophet. 08:42.688 --> 08:45.483 So as far as we're concerned, he's still the prophet. 08:47.193 --> 08:50.488 -Do you know what happened in that trial? -I don't want to know anything about it. 08:50.571 --> 08:52.531 You don't want to know anything about it? How come? 08:52.615 --> 08:53.533 Just don't want to. 08:53.616 --> 08:56.827 I shut myself off to that negative about him, I-- 08:56.911 --> 09:00.122 -You don't believe it's true? -I know it's not true. 09:02.124 --> 09:06.087 Warren Jeffs became more powerful because he's now a martyr. 09:07.046 --> 09:10.591 And from his prison in Texas, he would put out edicts. 09:10.675 --> 09:14.845 Behold that which you hear, the revelations of God. 09:14.929 --> 09:17.932 He told his congregation, "No more marriages." 09:18.432 --> 09:20.059 He told them to stop having sex. 09:20.142 --> 09:23.145 Because he's not having any sort of intimate contact, 09:23.229 --> 09:24.647 apparently nobody else could. 09:29.485 --> 09:31.445 We weren't supposed to be getting married. 09:31.529 --> 09:34.031 We couldn't have marital relations. 09:34.699 --> 09:38.077 Even with your husband, then we didn't hug anymore. 09:38.744 --> 09:41.747 We've been taught our whole lives that not one year should go by 09:41.831 --> 09:43.457 without a child being born. 09:44.208 --> 09:46.377 And now there were no more children. 09:47.169 --> 09:48.504 Nobody was having babies. 09:50.840 --> 09:53.467 Oh my gosh. 09:53.551 --> 09:54.844 Look at these cribs. 09:54.927 --> 09:58.598 Holy mackerel. This is where they took all the cribs and bassinets 09:58.681 --> 10:00.933 after you couldn't have children anymore. 10:01.851 --> 10:05.563 There are just hundreds and hundreds of FLDS cribs in here. 10:06.355 --> 10:07.356 Wow. 10:13.195 --> 10:16.741 You have a group of people who are paralyzed, 10:17.742 --> 10:19.994 waiting for their leader to be released from prison, 10:20.077 --> 10:21.996 not knowing what the right steps are to do. 10:23.164 --> 10:25.249 And around 2015, 10:25.333 --> 10:29.670 Warren seemed to be getting more mentally unstable, 10:29.754 --> 10:33.507 and he stopped communicating with almost everyone outside of prison. 10:36.719 --> 10:38.804 And then in 2016, 10:39.764 --> 10:41.849 the outside government came in 10:42.475 --> 10:47.772 and took control of the town away from the FLDS and Warren Jeffs. 10:48.606 --> 10:51.442 The court sort of took control of the entire community. 10:53.152 --> 10:54.820 The prophet was gone. 10:55.780 --> 10:57.782 We weren't getting directive. 10:59.659 --> 11:01.911 We were a very, very vulnerable 11:01.994 --> 11:05.331 and hungry… people. 11:16.675 --> 11:18.636 When we got to Short Creek, 11:18.719 --> 11:22.098 we began to see what the FLDS were going through. 11:28.020 --> 11:31.399 We started seeing endless moving trailers 11:31.482 --> 11:33.317 packing up and leaving town. 11:35.528 --> 11:39.031 We learned that, when the town had been taken over by the state of Utah, 11:39.115 --> 11:42.618 the FLDS started being evicted from their homes. 11:42.702 --> 11:43.828 I need you off the property. 11:43.911 --> 11:45.621 I'm not gonna be off the property. 11:45.704 --> 11:48.833 -Okay, then I'll call the police. -I want you to kick me out of my home. 11:48.916 --> 11:52.128 Because in order for them to stay in their homes, 11:52.211 --> 11:54.797 they had to sign a document 11:54.880 --> 11:57.967 that they believed was a violation of their religion. 11:58.050 --> 11:59.760 Take a picture of this. 11:59.844 --> 12:01.262 This is an eviction 12:01.345 --> 12:03.973 of somebody who was just evicted last week, 12:04.056 --> 12:08.060 moved over temporarily into this house. 12:08.144 --> 12:11.355 So, Tolga and I just started documenting these things. 12:11.439 --> 12:13.733 Do you need help? Can we help him? Do you need help? 12:13.816 --> 12:16.110 I don't know what's going on, but this looks really wrong. 12:16.193 --> 12:17.653 I feel bad for these people. 12:18.154 --> 12:21.240 This was my great-grandfather Elmer's homestead. 12:24.910 --> 12:26.579 It's just totally heartless. 12:27.663 --> 12:29.915 We just saw what I felt was injustice, 12:29.999 --> 12:33.210 and no one cared because they were FLDS 12:33.294 --> 12:37.214 and had been painted with the crimes of Warren Jeffs. 12:40.134 --> 12:41.761 So, we thought, 12:41.844 --> 12:45.681 well, maybe we could do a documentary and tell the other side of the story 12:45.765 --> 12:48.767 of these FLDS people because they're so stigmatized. 12:48.851 --> 12:50.644 Okay, that's rolling. 12:50.728 --> 12:53.481 And this is rolling. Oh, I'm not rolling yet. 12:53.981 --> 12:55.441 I have to do this, so… 12:56.609 --> 12:58.611 it syncs to audio on both cameras. 13:00.237 --> 13:03.866 We wanted to help people understand the positive side of the community. 13:03.949 --> 13:06.076 You look like you're going on a safari. 13:07.077 --> 13:09.955 -What's with the hat? -I wanted to look like a producer. 13:10.539 --> 13:11.832 Okay, Tolga, I'm gonna do it. 13:11.916 --> 13:14.126 Let's do a little orientation, um, real quick. 13:14.210 --> 13:15.127 Okay, do it. 13:15.211 --> 13:19.381 Okay. So, if he's filming, if you see Tolga with a camera, 13:20.049 --> 13:22.843 then don't call his name and don't call my name. 13:23.719 --> 13:26.805 We wanna show the regular life. We wanna show the truth. 13:26.889 --> 13:30.226 It took us a while to totally trust, 13:30.309 --> 13:33.145 but she really knew how to get into people's hearts 13:33.229 --> 13:34.396 and put 'em at ease. 13:34.480 --> 13:39.109 So, the FLDS people consider themselves to be like the real Mormons, right? 13:39.193 --> 13:44.448 Yeah, we just feel like that we wanna live it fundamentally, in its purity. 13:44.949 --> 13:45.824 -Yeah, okay. -And… 13:45.908 --> 13:47.701 I didn't know about her backstory. 13:47.785 --> 13:49.787 I didn't know anything about her ventriloquism. 13:49.870 --> 13:52.081 Happy birthday to you. 13:53.499 --> 13:55.501 I happen to be a ventriloquist. 13:55.584 --> 13:58.462 By the way, this is Zucchini. She's my scarecrow. 13:58.963 --> 14:00.923 I'm not just a scarecrow. 14:01.006 --> 14:03.175 I'm half scarecrow, half cookie. 14:04.093 --> 14:04.927 Oh yeah… 14:05.010 --> 14:07.596 Before I moved here, I lived a very colorful life. 14:08.180 --> 14:09.723 I had all kinds of adventures. 14:09.807 --> 14:12.643 Miss Michigan, Christine Marie. 14:14.770 --> 14:17.314 I am a former Miss Michigan, 14:18.232 --> 14:19.400 an escape artist, 14:20.860 --> 14:22.945 a certified life coach. 14:23.821 --> 14:25.239 We're gonna make vowel babies. 14:25.823 --> 14:26.907 I love these. 14:26.991 --> 14:30.119 So, what you do is cut out two pieces of fabric. 14:30.619 --> 14:34.582 When I met Christine, she had a TV show called Gingerbread House, 14:35.291 --> 14:37.001 and she was teaching kindergarten. 14:38.377 --> 14:40.880 I've never met anybody like her in my life. 14:41.589 --> 14:44.592 I would catch her doing crazy stuff, helping out people. 14:45.759 --> 14:46.844 Dean is here. 14:47.428 --> 14:50.097 He collected up a bunch of donations for our community. 14:50.180 --> 14:51.098 Yeah, we got… 14:51.181 --> 14:53.183 As we were making the documentary, 14:53.267 --> 14:57.104 I also launched a nonprofit called Voices for Dignity. 14:57.938 --> 15:00.649 We would bring comfort bags and resource lists. 15:00.733 --> 15:03.110 And these are all new backpacks and duffel bags. 15:03.193 --> 15:05.029 You're kidding. Woo! 15:06.572 --> 15:10.200 We needed a way for the women to have an income, 15:10.784 --> 15:14.330 so Christine created Short Creek Cottage, 15:15.080 --> 15:17.124 where we'd sell homemade items. 15:17.958 --> 15:20.085 Oh, that's adorable. 15:20.169 --> 15:23.422 I don't know how I would have survived without this cottage. 15:23.505 --> 15:25.382 Yeah, let's do… let's do it with energy. 15:26.383 --> 15:28.260 I had gained their trust. 15:32.056 --> 15:36.852 I thought, what an honor and unique position it was for me. 15:36.935 --> 15:38.646 -How'd you get down? Tell Tolga. -I landed. 15:39.980 --> 15:41.899 -I had to. -How did you get down? 15:41.982 --> 15:46.779 I decided whether people leave the church or don't, I want them to be okay. 15:47.404 --> 15:51.408 And that I would never say anything negative about their prophet, 15:51.492 --> 15:55.579 because I have the unique opportunity to help people. 15:55.663 --> 15:59.166 Why would they come to somebody fighting against their way of life? 16:03.963 --> 16:06.048 Wait one second, Christine, wait. 16:06.757 --> 16:09.009 You can turn that one on. Hold on. Wait, guys. 16:10.469 --> 16:14.807 We were very excited about this documentary project we were making. 16:14.890 --> 16:16.934 I'm getting video. 16:17.601 --> 16:18.686 By this point, 16:18.769 --> 16:21.647 it was just known that Tolga's around with a camera. 16:21.730 --> 16:24.566 Tolga! He's got a big lookin' camera! 16:24.650 --> 16:28.821 He's video-ing everyone Around the world too! 16:32.157 --> 16:34.410 And that's how we met Sam Bateman. 16:34.910 --> 16:35.953 Hey, Christine. 16:37.663 --> 16:39.081 -Come right through here. -Okay. 16:39.164 --> 16:41.542 -I'll push all this out of the way. -Okay, thanks. 16:42.251 --> 16:43.419 All right. Got it. 16:43.502 --> 16:44.712 In the community, 16:44.795 --> 16:48.757 Sam was not generally a man with status. 16:49.466 --> 16:51.260 I don't mind doing things that 16:52.219 --> 16:54.847 could break my leg or something if I wasn't careful. 16:56.098 --> 17:00.060 When I first met Sam Bateman, I didn't think much about him. 17:00.144 --> 17:01.353 He had got an eviction notice. 17:03.063 --> 17:04.982 And he asked me to help, 17:05.691 --> 17:06.692 which I did. 17:10.779 --> 17:13.949 At that time, he said, "I'm not doing very well." 17:14.032 --> 17:15.826 "I am in financially dire straits." 17:18.203 --> 17:20.164 He and his wife were getting a divorce, 17:20.956 --> 17:22.624 and he was a broken man. 17:24.126 --> 17:27.004 People thought of Sam Bateman as kind of a shlub. 17:28.005 --> 17:31.008 He could never seem to make money at his jobs. 17:31.759 --> 17:35.220 He was looking for, you know, a lifeline. 17:40.601 --> 17:42.936 I didn't see him for some time. 17:43.520 --> 17:46.982 And then Sam reappears with a new wife. 17:47.983 --> 17:49.568 Okay. All better. There you are. 17:49.651 --> 17:51.987 Over 18, but young and beautiful. 17:52.071 --> 17:53.280 Where should I look? 17:53.363 --> 17:55.240 You can just look at him or Christine. 17:55.741 --> 17:56.658 Look at me. 17:56.742 --> 17:59.203 Keep in mind, people are not getting married 17:59.286 --> 18:01.705 because the prophet stopped marrying people. 18:02.539 --> 18:04.500 -I have… -Is it an iPhone? 18:04.583 --> 18:06.710 I remember thinking, "That's interesting." 18:07.252 --> 18:09.421 How did Sam get a new wife, you know? 18:09.505 --> 18:13.258 You know, somebody's… been doing something that 18:13.342 --> 18:16.887 wasn't put together by the prophet. 18:16.970 --> 18:19.181 -What background do you want? That? -This one. 18:19.264 --> 18:20.516 -Yeah. -Okay. 18:21.475 --> 18:24.228 The next time I saw Sam, he had another wife. 18:25.395 --> 18:27.064 Again, over 18. 18:27.773 --> 18:30.192 And the younger sister of the first wife. 18:38.033 --> 18:40.786 I was running the Short Creek Cottage. 18:42.955 --> 18:45.541 And Sam showed up outside in the back. 18:46.875 --> 18:50.587 He was in a vehicle with a trailer. Like a flatbed trailer. 18:53.841 --> 18:59.721 There's a gift we all can give To help along the way… 18:59.805 --> 19:04.434 And I went out, and it was, like, just… dripping with women. 19:04.518 --> 19:07.980 There are so many things to do 19:08.063 --> 19:11.066 He'd showed up with all of these wives singing. 19:12.150 --> 19:13.735 I was like, "Really?" 19:15.028 --> 19:16.905 How did that happen? 19:18.782 --> 19:20.242 There were babies too. 19:21.660 --> 19:25.706 It was like they clear forgot some of our core beliefs. 19:28.333 --> 19:30.419 It was really strange to me. 19:30.502 --> 19:32.254 All these women and girls. 19:53.817 --> 19:57.738 I had no desire to be… close to that situation. 20:01.909 --> 20:03.994 I just started avoiding all of 'em. 20:04.703 --> 20:07.372 Everybody that I heard was involved with him, I just… 20:07.873 --> 20:09.791 Okay, I don't wanna go there. 20:12.753 --> 20:16.298 Sam was always kind of a joke in our whole friend group. 20:16.381 --> 20:19.259 So at first, I didn't believe it. 20:19.343 --> 20:20.469 I thought it was funny. 20:21.511 --> 20:25.057 But when Warren goes to a whole group of people and says, 20:25.140 --> 20:27.017 "Thou shalt not have sex," 20:27.643 --> 20:30.812 I'll bet you that lasts about two and a half mi-- milliseconds. 20:30.896 --> 20:34.942 Why? Because you can't proselyte human nature out of humans. 20:35.025 --> 20:36.276 They're gonna do it. 20:37.945 --> 20:39.446 And guess what? They did. 20:42.407 --> 20:46.453 Sam is apparently doing his own version of being FLDS. 20:46.536 --> 20:49.289 Getting married, having babies, 20:50.040 --> 20:52.000 and who knows what else. 20:52.084 --> 20:54.628 The FLDS community shunned Sam. 20:55.379 --> 20:58.256 They knew something was wrong. Red flag, Sam is shunned. 20:59.758 --> 21:00.759 I don't shun. 21:01.969 --> 21:03.720 If you shun, you can't help. 21:03.804 --> 21:07.641 If you attack, they're not gonna come to you when they're in need. 21:07.724 --> 21:09.309 You wanna go flyin'? 21:09.393 --> 21:12.020 Oh, it's working. Okay, so what happened? 21:12.104 --> 21:14.523 Just seeing Sam with all these females 21:14.606 --> 21:16.566 is concerning in and of itself. 21:17.734 --> 21:20.946 So I wanted to figure out what was going on. 21:22.698 --> 21:25.867 Sam invited Tolga and I to come to dinner 21:25.951 --> 21:29.246 at a house where Sam and a lot of his wives lived. 21:33.375 --> 21:34.501 -Hi. -Hey. 21:35.836 --> 21:39.256 There were a lot of people there, but mostly young women. 21:41.174 --> 21:43.719 And then some very small children. 21:46.930 --> 21:48.932 They gave us their Sunday best. 21:50.517 --> 21:51.852 And then after dinner, 21:52.728 --> 21:55.480 they started singing to us like a talent show. 21:55.564 --> 21:57.983 I think these little girls want to sing you a song too. 21:58.066 --> 21:59.359 -Okay. -Some might. 21:59.443 --> 22:01.611 -All right. -Oh, that'd be wonderful. 22:01.695 --> 22:03.655 I wanna go here so I get everybody. 22:03.739 --> 22:05.323 If you guys don't all fit in the camera, 22:05.407 --> 22:07.868 I have to, like, keep turning, I guess, like this. 22:08.994 --> 22:11.121 All right, we're ready for the song. 22:12.205 --> 22:15.625 An inheritance 22:15.709 --> 22:19.212 With our Savior 22:19.296 --> 22:21.548 In Zion… 22:21.631 --> 22:23.967 I had alarm bells ringing everywhere. 22:24.051 --> 22:29.014 Is everlasting 22:29.097 --> 22:32.768 I knew that Sam was married to some of these women, 22:32.851 --> 22:34.686 you know, even these young women. 22:35.187 --> 22:38.273 But there were rumors that he was married to the children. 22:38.357 --> 22:40.400 And this group is called? 22:40.484 --> 22:41.568 Us. 22:41.651 --> 22:42.611 Okay. 22:42.694 --> 22:45.572 -How old are you guys? -Didn't you make the words and the…? 22:45.655 --> 22:47.240 -What? -We're both 10. 22:47.324 --> 22:48.241 Really? 22:55.040 --> 22:57.751 After the dinner and talent show, 22:58.418 --> 23:00.504 I talked to a police officer. 23:01.296 --> 23:04.091 The Colorado City/Hildale City Police Department 23:04.174 --> 23:06.134 is a department that's contracted 23:06.218 --> 23:10.597 to manage policing services on both sides of the border 23:10.680 --> 23:12.057 in Utah and in Arizona. 23:13.141 --> 23:15.310 We here in Colorado City/Hildale 23:16.061 --> 23:20.482 have… a nice little community. 23:20.982 --> 23:22.609 The nickname's "the Crick." 23:23.610 --> 23:25.695 It's been kind of a sanctuary place 23:25.779 --> 23:29.574 for people who practice plural marriage. 23:30.951 --> 23:34.162 Prior to Christine Marie speaking to us, 23:34.246 --> 23:36.748 members of the community had reached out to the police department 23:36.832 --> 23:40.252 on a number of occasions about Sam Bateman. 23:41.670 --> 23:47.968 We had heard that he was trying to gather members of the FLDS community 23:48.051 --> 23:50.011 to his new offshoot, 23:50.095 --> 23:53.807 that he was gathering multiple wives, 23:53.890 --> 23:56.601 and that some of those wives may be underage. 23:57.727 --> 24:00.564 It was obviously cause for concern. 24:01.398 --> 24:03.483 But I told Christine Marie at the time 24:03.567 --> 24:09.239 that unless we could establish that some criminal act occurred, 24:09.322 --> 24:11.658 we did not have a crime to investigate. 24:12.325 --> 24:13.368 Okay. 24:13.452 --> 24:15.454 Sergeant Wilkinson told me, 24:15.537 --> 24:19.916 "It's not a crime to call someone your wife, even if it's a child." 24:20.000 --> 24:23.503 "What's a crime is to do something with that child, 24:23.587 --> 24:25.505 something like to molest that child." 24:26.339 --> 24:28.717 And I didn't have that information. 24:31.803 --> 24:35.849 So I'm paying attention to any clue I can get. 24:37.100 --> 24:41.771 And Sam started inviting us to things and wanting us to film. 24:42.397 --> 24:45.567 Wow, how many people are coming out of there? Wow. 24:45.650 --> 24:47.903 What in the world? 24:50.322 --> 24:51.740 It was uncanny. 24:51.823 --> 24:54.701 We would go on a hike up in the mountains. 24:57.078 --> 24:58.246 Sam would be there. 24:58.788 --> 24:59.998 How's it going? 25:01.124 --> 25:03.084 That was amazing. I'm gonna shake your hand. 25:03.168 --> 25:05.712 That was like, how do you get up those rocks like that? 25:05.795 --> 25:07.714 And then we got an idea. 25:09.049 --> 25:10.050 Hello, Tolga. 25:10.133 --> 25:11.092 Hey, brother. 25:11.176 --> 25:14.262 Sorry, my voice is so bad, but I just got back into town, so… 25:14.346 --> 25:17.349 …I'm gonna bring you a little surprise. Is that okay? 25:17.432 --> 25:21.311 It's your birthday, so I wanted to kind of film it and give this to you. 25:21.394 --> 25:22.854 The idea was, 25:22.938 --> 25:24.272 if they let us film… 25:24.356 --> 25:26.691 -Happy birthday! -Where's the birthday boy? 25:26.775 --> 25:29.986 …maybe if we spent more time with them 25:30.070 --> 25:32.697 and developed a relationship with them, 25:32.781 --> 25:35.742 maybe we would see what was really going on. 25:36.409 --> 25:38.912 Was he sexually abusing any of these girls? 25:39.663 --> 25:42.499 -How old are we now? -Thank you, 46. 25:42.582 --> 25:44.334 Forty-six? Okay, good. 25:44.417 --> 25:45.543 Did you have a good birthday? 25:45.627 --> 25:47.379 What did you do for his birthday? 25:47.462 --> 25:49.714 -We're doing it tomorrow. -Tomorrow? Okay. 25:49.798 --> 25:51.550 I'm so glad we came tonight, then. 25:51.633 --> 25:52.926 This is for the king. 25:53.009 --> 25:54.678 Yes. 25:54.761 --> 25:56.805 We were gonna literally bring you a crown. 25:56.888 --> 25:59.349 We wanted to get a crown, but we couldn't find any, so… 25:59.432 --> 26:00.475 Well, thank you. 26:00.559 --> 26:02.519 What I told them is, 26:02.602 --> 26:04.437 "I'll go in my room and shut the door, 26:04.521 --> 26:06.648 and you sing 'Happy Birthday' while I'm there." 26:06.731 --> 26:08.024 Oh. 26:12.654 --> 26:14.572 Sam, I learned, 26:14.656 --> 26:17.951 was the actual leader of this new group. 26:18.034 --> 26:19.160 The Samuelite Group. 26:21.454 --> 26:23.665 They all lived in the same house. 26:24.749 --> 26:26.001 A big blue house. 26:31.840 --> 26:34.009 The group was very small, 26:34.718 --> 26:36.970 less than 50 people, and that includes babies. 26:37.929 --> 26:41.725 Besides Sam, there were three main families involved. 26:43.268 --> 26:46.146 He recruited Torrance Bistline. 26:47.355 --> 26:50.275 Torrance was a very motivated businessman. 26:51.443 --> 26:55.238 Sam also recruited Ladell Bistline Jr. 26:55.739 --> 26:57.991 and Moroni Johnson. 26:58.491 --> 27:02.662 I was so lacking in that gift of revelation. 27:02.746 --> 27:05.415 I could not do it without Samuel's help. 27:05.999 --> 27:08.793 I love him more than I love anyone, and I will do what he asks me to do. 27:08.877 --> 27:12.505 And he has proven it and proven it, and God is my witness. 27:14.090 --> 27:17.302 All the men in Sam's group had status in the community, 27:17.385 --> 27:19.179 and they all were successful. 27:20.347 --> 27:21.431 And I thought, 27:22.432 --> 27:25.352 why are they going for Sam, of all people? 27:29.606 --> 27:31.316 For the FLDS, 27:31.399 --> 27:34.694 everyone was expected to be obedient to the prophet. 27:34.778 --> 27:36.321 That's the way to heaven. 27:37.697 --> 27:40.325 So they're dying to hear from Warren, 27:40.408 --> 27:42.660 dying to know what their next step was. 27:45.288 --> 27:47.666 It's been five, six, seven years 27:47.749 --> 27:50.668 since some of these people have heard from Warren. 27:53.713 --> 27:55.340 Now suddenly, 27:55.423 --> 27:57.676 Sam came up with 27:57.759 --> 28:00.512 that Warren Jeffs has actually died, 28:01.513 --> 28:05.016 and the media is lying to you, as they always do, 28:05.100 --> 28:07.811 and it's just a mannequin that's in his room. 28:11.689 --> 28:15.443 And Sam said, "I am now Warren Jeffs's messenger." 28:15.527 --> 28:18.321 "He's giving me this direction from the other side of death." 28:20.532 --> 28:23.410 This, in fact, was what Warren had said 28:23.493 --> 28:25.078 when his father died. 28:25.745 --> 28:27.956 His father had been the prophet, 28:28.039 --> 28:31.751 and Warren said that his father was now speaking through him. 28:33.503 --> 28:36.339 And so what Sam told his followers 28:36.423 --> 28:38.425 was that Warren had left his body 28:38.508 --> 28:41.720 and that he was now speaking through Samuel. 28:41.803 --> 28:44.264 The other night we were talking, and he said, 28:44.347 --> 28:46.599 "This is the spirit of Uncle Warren." 28:47.642 --> 28:50.603 And I thought, that's pretty bold. 28:50.687 --> 28:52.856 Yeah, yeah, for sure. 28:52.939 --> 28:56.192 But if he didn't say it, he'd have never woke me up 28:56.276 --> 28:59.112 and never started down the path of waking me up. 28:59.195 --> 29:02.115 He is now the mouthpiece for Warren Jeffs. 29:02.198 --> 29:04.993 I can feel… people's spirits. 29:05.076 --> 29:08.163 I can feel it. The spirit. It's a gift. 29:17.005 --> 29:21.050 Sam decided that the mantle of Warren Jeffs had fallen upon him. 29:21.718 --> 29:24.262 I mean, shit, you take people's faith away, 29:24.345 --> 29:26.181 they'll do anything to feel it. 29:28.475 --> 29:31.853 Moroni was the first person to believe in Sam. 29:33.938 --> 29:36.733 And because Sam was now the prophet, 29:37.400 --> 29:40.820 he agreed to turn over his daughters, 29:40.904 --> 29:43.823 even his very young daughters, to marry Sam. 29:45.366 --> 29:47.118 By the time we met Moroni, 29:47.202 --> 29:50.580 he had given all of his daughters to Sam. 29:51.498 --> 29:52.791 I surrender 29:52.874 --> 29:54.459 the ladies under my care. 29:55.084 --> 29:57.128 They belong to Father Samuel. 29:57.212 --> 29:59.631 What he chooses to do with them is his business. 30:00.632 --> 30:03.551 Moroni had many wives, 30:03.635 --> 30:06.346 and most of those wives married Sam. 30:09.265 --> 30:11.851 And then Sam starts taking 30:11.935 --> 30:14.103 Ladell's daughters 30:15.438 --> 30:16.856 and his wife 30:17.482 --> 30:19.692 and other women in his care. 30:20.777 --> 30:23.279 And I says, "Samuel, she's yours." 30:23.947 --> 30:25.907 And he said, "God bless you." 30:25.990 --> 30:29.410 So your whole family is now going to be sealed to Samuel? 30:29.494 --> 30:30.578 Mm-hmm. 30:31.329 --> 30:34.040 However it might look to an earthly mind, 30:34.541 --> 30:35.959 you don't have any clue. 30:36.709 --> 30:38.002 Those girls love him. 30:38.878 --> 30:41.130 I'll testify that to the whole world. 30:41.631 --> 30:42.715 I've seen it. 30:45.343 --> 30:48.471 Everybody in a fundamental Mormon group 30:48.555 --> 30:50.807 want to be associated with the prophet. 30:51.808 --> 30:54.727 They want to be the right-hand man of the prophet. 30:54.811 --> 30:57.188 They want to be the wife of the prophet. 30:57.272 --> 30:59.190 It's like being the wife of God. 30:59.691 --> 31:01.860 And if you're a believer, who wouldn't want that? 31:09.033 --> 31:12.203 Several of my nieces ended up 31:12.996 --> 31:14.205 marrying him. 31:14.289 --> 31:17.542 It gave them the opportunity to have children. 31:18.209 --> 31:20.837 And… I could… 31:20.920 --> 31:25.341 I just felt like, but by the grace of God, that could be me. 31:29.888 --> 31:32.098 It was really hard for me to see 31:32.181 --> 31:35.393 these people that I really loved and respected 31:36.102 --> 31:37.020 go that way. 31:38.146 --> 31:40.773 You know, Lud and Torrance are my nephews. 31:41.816 --> 31:43.693 So I did know 31:44.235 --> 31:45.904 a lot of 'em very well. 31:47.572 --> 31:49.866 Now that he's a prophet, 31:49.949 --> 31:53.995 Sam would use his power to make his desires known. 31:57.290 --> 32:01.169 Torrance had a very successful green energy company 32:01.252 --> 32:03.087 that was making a lot of money. 32:04.255 --> 32:07.091 Moroni and Ladell worked for this company. 32:07.926 --> 32:12.930 And I learned that Sam's followers were subsidizing his lifestyle. 32:15.391 --> 32:16.559 We found out where he lived, 32:16.643 --> 32:18.519 and so we'd drive by it every couple of days 32:18.603 --> 32:20.063 and see how many cars he had there. 32:20.146 --> 32:22.065 And then all of a sudden, holy crap. 32:24.776 --> 32:26.861 That's basically the Bateman crew 32:27.403 --> 32:30.740 and their fleet of vehicles driving by my house. 32:32.909 --> 32:36.871 They'd have a whole motorcade with a Range Rover and two Bentleys 32:36.955 --> 32:38.665 and then another Range Rover. 32:41.876 --> 32:44.629 And they'd drive around town and show off. 32:44.712 --> 32:47.548 It was really sort of a… 32:48.049 --> 32:50.843 a fuck you to all the men 32:50.927 --> 32:55.390 who had dissed on Sam and thought he wasn't important in his life. 32:55.473 --> 32:59.060 He wanted to show those men that he was the king. 33:13.908 --> 33:15.952 Did you ever hear the story 33:16.035 --> 33:18.663 of our Jan's Canyon experience? 33:19.247 --> 33:21.666 It was a training… It was a training I was giving the girls. 33:21.749 --> 33:24.252 It was so dang deep. 33:24.335 --> 33:27.839 It looks… It looks small on the surface, but it was… it was eternal. 33:27.922 --> 33:29.757 I… I could feel it from the start. 33:29.841 --> 33:32.218 Is it something we should film them talking about? 33:32.301 --> 33:33.636 Oh, I… I think so, yeah. 33:37.598 --> 33:38.933 At some point, 33:39.016 --> 33:43.479 Sam started believing that he should be the star of our documentary. 33:45.023 --> 33:48.735 What could be better than blessing the world with his… his presence, 33:48.818 --> 33:50.903 his face, his teachings? 33:52.363 --> 33:53.406 Hi, Samuel. 33:53.489 --> 33:55.199 Okay, we're coming with cameras. 33:55.867 --> 33:56.993 Okay. 33:57.076 --> 34:00.747 Sam's calling us saying, "Can you come film this?" 34:02.331 --> 34:03.666 We play along. 34:04.167 --> 34:07.670 The rule of thumb was, if Sam wanted us to spend time, 34:07.754 --> 34:10.006 we were gonna go. This is our new job. 34:10.631 --> 34:12.925 -We brought Christine! -Hi! 34:13.009 --> 34:14.218 Hi, Christine. 34:14.302 --> 34:16.387 We are going on an adventure. 34:17.764 --> 34:20.266 Tolga was making money doing music videos, 34:20.349 --> 34:23.186 but now his career was on hold. 34:23.770 --> 34:25.021 His life is on hold. 34:26.564 --> 34:28.357 He wanted us to film all the time. 34:28.441 --> 34:30.735 I'd like some videos of me just walking real fast. 34:31.235 --> 34:33.863 My day would start out, eight o'clock in the morning, 34:33.946 --> 34:37.950 "Tolga, Sam wants you to go film him on the motorcycle." 34:38.576 --> 34:40.411 Tolga, he's there. You see him? 34:42.121 --> 34:44.582 He was the worst. He couldn't jump the motorcycle. 34:44.665 --> 34:46.918 He couldn't do anything. I had to sit there and watch him 34:47.001 --> 34:47.877 like a fool. 34:49.378 --> 34:50.505 Amazing. 34:52.632 --> 34:54.967 He would say, "I want you to watch me hike." 34:56.928 --> 34:59.472 Wow, you're really talented. I didn't know that. 34:59.555 --> 35:03.267 -Where did you learn to do that? -What, to hike? Just hiking, huh? 35:05.937 --> 35:07.563 We're here with Sam and the girls, 35:07.647 --> 35:12.777 and he's, um, facilitating a reenactment of an experience. 35:12.860 --> 35:15.488 There's a message in it. It's like a life lesson, 35:15.571 --> 35:17.907 and he wanted that captured, so we're doing it. 35:17.990 --> 35:19.575 So this is kind of how it was. 35:19.659 --> 35:21.410 Did you say, "Pray for me," right? 35:21.494 --> 35:23.037 Oh yeah, I didn't say that, did I? 35:23.121 --> 35:24.831 -Should we do that one again? -Yeah. 35:26.624 --> 35:27.708 Pray for me. 35:28.793 --> 35:30.378 -That works. -Perfect. 35:30.962 --> 35:32.797 I can't guarantee this is… 35:33.381 --> 35:35.007 this is the right path. 35:36.467 --> 35:37.718 Watch the cactus. 35:41.389 --> 35:43.641 Girls, I've been wondering when you'd come down. 35:44.225 --> 35:48.646 I'm not displeased with you, but this is a lesson that people have to learn, 35:48.729 --> 35:51.983 is that you can communicate through the spirit of God. 35:53.943 --> 35:56.571 Okay. What? Should we do it again, or what? 35:59.949 --> 36:01.200 Then one day, 36:01.284 --> 36:03.119 Sam called in the morning, 36:03.202 --> 36:05.163 and he said he had an impression. 36:05.246 --> 36:09.208 Now, an "impression" is like God's telling you something. 36:09.292 --> 36:11.294 "I had an impression from the Lord 36:11.377 --> 36:13.379 that you and Tolga 36:13.462 --> 36:16.507 need to come over to my house this morning 36:17.008 --> 36:18.676 and we need to tell you some things." 36:18.759 --> 36:20.011 Oh my goodness, thank you. 36:20.094 --> 36:22.972 It might be a bit slushy because it was in the freezer. 36:24.223 --> 36:27.226 He had all these women and children there. 36:27.310 --> 36:29.395 Because it's like they're here to protect us… 36:29.478 --> 36:34.192 And then Sam said he had an impression that he should leave the room 36:34.275 --> 36:37.028 while the girls talk to us. 36:39.322 --> 36:40.364 Okay. 36:40.448 --> 36:44.702 Finally, the chance to talk to the girls by themselves. 36:45.870 --> 36:49.332 I was trying to figure out, what can I ask without giving a red flag? 36:50.625 --> 36:53.336 So do you feel like… do you feel like your life… 36:53.419 --> 36:55.922 Like, how has your life changed since all this? 36:56.005 --> 36:58.007 Since you got your testimony of Samuel? 36:58.090 --> 36:59.842 All for the better. 36:59.926 --> 37:01.802 -Fifty times happier. -Yeah. 37:01.886 --> 37:04.180 -Fifty times more at peace. -Something to live for. 37:04.263 --> 37:07.350 There's always something to live for and always an increase. 37:07.433 --> 37:09.393 And you always know that somebody loves you, 37:09.477 --> 37:11.103 somebody's praying for you. 37:11.854 --> 37:16.025 What more could a girl ask for but just to belong somewhere. 37:16.108 --> 37:17.610 Yeah. 37:18.611 --> 37:20.988 The girls were enamored with Sam. 37:21.614 --> 37:24.158 They told us that they had received 37:24.241 --> 37:27.620 confirmation from God that they were meant to be with Sam. 37:27.703 --> 37:29.956 Should we hop in the Bentley and get Toro and talk to him? 37:30.039 --> 37:31.249 -Sure. -Okay. 37:32.291 --> 37:35.419 And then Sam said, "Let's go for a drive." 37:36.504 --> 37:39.048 And he puts us in the car, 37:39.131 --> 37:43.219 and he picks three girls. "I want you and you and you to come along." 37:44.553 --> 37:46.973 We start driving around. 37:47.056 --> 37:49.100 There's four of us in the back seat, 37:49.183 --> 37:53.479 and then Tolga in the front with Sam, but he wasn't filming. 37:56.357 --> 37:59.777 Sam starts talking about how much he suffered. 38:00.945 --> 38:04.573 And it seems as if he's trying to build up to something. 38:05.741 --> 38:07.743 I thought, where is this gonna go? 38:07.827 --> 38:10.121 I put in a lot of hours to wait for this moment 38:10.204 --> 38:11.831 to see what is really happening. 38:11.914 --> 38:14.917 So I reached my hand down into my purse, 38:15.001 --> 38:16.043 grabbed my phone, 38:17.295 --> 38:20.214 and I sneak it up my leg. 38:21.590 --> 38:24.677 And I very secretly hit record. 38:25.177 --> 38:27.179 And Sam 38:28.347 --> 38:30.099 just spilled the beans. 38:50.202 --> 38:51.328 Okay. 39:13.934 --> 39:14.935 Mmm. 39:17.146 --> 39:18.898 Sam explained 39:18.981 --> 39:23.861 that he had to atone for the sins of wicked men 39:23.944 --> 39:27.531 by having these three wives 39:29.408 --> 39:30.451 have sex with them. 39:30.534 --> 39:33.162 The three girls he had chosen to come in the car 39:33.245 --> 39:34.663 were the three he was telling you? 39:34.747 --> 39:35.581 Yes. 39:52.723 --> 39:55.393 This girl was 13 years old. 39:57.561 --> 40:00.356 It was clear, for the first time, 40:00.856 --> 40:04.402 that… there was sexual abuse of children. 40:08.739 --> 40:09.573 Yeah. 40:15.079 --> 40:15.955 Mmm. 40:20.126 --> 40:20.960 Yeah. 40:24.171 --> 40:26.006 While he's telling this story, 40:26.090 --> 40:27.925 he's trying to describe 40:28.426 --> 40:31.512 all the pain and suffering that he had to go through. 40:32.805 --> 40:33.973 In the meantime, 40:34.932 --> 40:39.019 these pure FLDS women, 40:39.103 --> 40:41.564 young women and child, 40:43.023 --> 40:45.317 are incredibly humiliated. 40:45.401 --> 40:46.444 They were like, 40:47.486 --> 40:49.238 you know, not good. 40:54.577 --> 40:56.537 Yeah, it hurts. 40:58.831 --> 41:02.334 She said, "I was so dang scared." 41:02.418 --> 41:05.546 And then Sam starts telling them what to say. 41:13.179 --> 41:15.598 -Not one speck of anything. -Trauma? 41:27.651 --> 41:28.569 Has it…? 41:47.796 --> 41:48.714 Wow. 41:50.257 --> 41:55.054 All of the panic circuitry in my body was exploding. 41:55.137 --> 41:57.723 I mean, my mouth was turning into cotton, 41:57.806 --> 42:01.435 and I couldn't handle any more. 42:02.394 --> 42:05.272 Well, I am gonna go start getting ready and feed the animals, 42:05.356 --> 42:07.983 but Tolga can stay and talk more if… if you want. 42:08.609 --> 42:09.485 So, um… 42:09.568 --> 42:12.821 -We actually gotta be home too. -Well, thank you. 42:12.905 --> 42:14.657 -Love you, guys. -All good. 42:14.740 --> 42:16.617 -Thank you. -Thank you. I love you. 42:16.700 --> 42:18.160 -God bless you. -Love you too. 42:18.244 --> 42:20.996 -Love you, Sam. Love you all. -Thank you guys so much. 42:21.080 --> 42:22.164 Bye. 42:26.043 --> 42:29.672 The date is November 10th, 2021. 42:31.924 --> 42:33.509 The location is 42:34.718 --> 42:36.887 Colorado City, Arizona. 42:37.471 --> 42:39.348 Driving around in a car. 42:49.608 --> 42:51.443 Yeah. Tolga, we have to… we have to… 42:51.527 --> 42:53.195 I have to turn this tape in. 42:54.071 --> 42:56.532 Yes, but you got… you got now full trust. 42:56.615 --> 42:57.992 You gotta wait a couple more days. 42:58.075 --> 43:00.494 -I know, I can't… I have to explain. -They can't know. 43:00.578 --> 43:03.580 These girls need my… They need to trust me, 43:03.664 --> 43:05.791 or they won't ever trust anybody. 43:05.874 --> 43:07.668 So I don't know what to do. 43:07.751 --> 43:10.838 -You know. They'll know-- -Just lay low for a second. 43:10.921 --> 43:13.632 -Just let the police know, and… lay low. -Yeah. 43:13.716 --> 43:15.217 Yeah, I'm gonna call. now, and… lay low. -Yeah.