Stepping out onto the dusty brown soil, Christine Marie took in the mountains around her.
She and her husband, Tolga Katas, had just moved to Short Creek, Arizona, in the US.
Home to Zion National Park with its breathtaking red sandstone cliffs, over the years, Short Creek had become more well known for a secretive religious sect, The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS).
An offshoot of Mormonism, they recognised polygamy, and the leaders were believed to be prophets delivering the word of God.
As a young woman, Christine had converted to Mormonism herself. She married young, going on to welcome four children.
But when her relationship broke down, Christine was preyed upon by a man claiming to be a prophet.
During their time together, Christine was housed in a dark hotel room, and forced to have sex with strange men.
Eventually, one of her would-be abusers turned into her saviour, revealing the man she believed to be acting on God’s behalf, was a false prophet.
Christine couldn’t believe how she’d been duped. After leaving the sect, she went on to study psychology at university, researching cults for her doctorate in the field.
Now, in 2016, Christine and Tolga, who worked as a videographer, had moved to Short Creek to help the FLDS wives, knowing their previous leader Warren Jeffs had been convicted in August 2011 of sexual abuse of two of his wives.
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As the years passed, Christine’s kindness and empathy earned the trust of women in the community, who were largely suspicious of ‘outsiders’. Some of them began to open up about their new leader, Samuel Bateman, who claimed Warren Jeffs had died in prison and that he’d been chosen as the new prophet.
Calling his splinter group the ‘Samuelites’, he coerced three males followers – Moroni Johnson, and brothers Torrance and LaDell Bistline – to surrender their wives and daughters to him.
In the space of a few years, Samuel had amassed 23 brides – 10 of them were under 18 and some as young as nine.
Christina and Tolga befriended Samuel and his followers. But knowing how deeply entrenched their beliefs were, Christine knew from experience she had to tread lightly if she had any hope of getting the victims out.
The couple took time getting to know the group, even gaining their approval to be filmed for a documentary Tolga was working on.
But the more the couple learned about Sam’s wild agenda, including his plan to convince Queen Elizabeth II to become one of his wives, the more concerned they grew.
When Julia Johnson – one of Moroni’s wives who had been surrendered to Samuel – divulged that some of her daughters who were minors, were being abused, Christine was horrified by the claim.
She reported her findings to police, but they told her they needed more proof.
As Samuel’s desire to gain more followers grew, he allowed Christine and Tolga even more access to his inner-circle, convinced with their help he could make videos encouraging others to join his cause.
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Christine observed his wives, but they all seemed deeply devoted to their husband.
And while he was affectionate with his older companions, Samuel was careful to never do anything untoward with his younger brides.
Then in November 2021, while in the back seat of his car, Christine secretly recorded Samuel as he recounted how he’d been instructed by God to watch his male followers having sex with underage girls.
It was the first time sexual abuse of children had been stated and the breakthrough Christine and Tolga had been hoping for.
They passed the recording to the police, and the case was escalated to the FBI.
Tasked with becoming informants to help build a case against Samuel, Christine and Tolga passed all they discovered to authorities.
Then in August 2022, Samuel Bateman was arrested. He’d been found towing a trailer with underage girls inside, after other drivers noticed fingers sticking out of it.
Bateman was released on bail, but, the following month, sensing he was planning to flee to avoid prosecution, the FBI raided his property, placing any underage victims into state custody.
Still exerting influence from behind bars, Bateman orchestrated a kidnapping plot – telling his devotees to abduct the children from the home they’d been placed in.
Finally, in April 2024, Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 48, appeared in the District Court of Arizona where he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit transportation of a minor for criminal sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping.
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That December, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison, to be followed by lifetime supervised release.
Other adult followers were convicted of charges related to the child sexual abuse conspiracy, including Moroni Johnson who was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Brothers Torrance Bistline and LaDell Jay Bistline Jr, also received sentences of 35 years and life in prison, respectively.
Despite his incarceration, many of Bateman’s followers still believe him to be the prophet.
Christine, now 66, still lives in Short Creek, remaining close to Julia and other former FLDS wives.
‘It was so validating for me to make sure that these girls and women were safe. Even the women who still believe in him are a hundred times safer with him not in the house,’ she said on a documentary, which features much of Tolga’s footage from their time undercover.
‘There was a sense of closure for me.’
