The leader of a polygamous group on the Utah-Arizona border has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including aiding a kidnapping and obstructing a federal investigation.
Court records show Samuel Rappylee Bateman appeared in U.S. District Court in Arizona on Wednesday, where he entered a not guilty plea. A federal judge set a January trial date, but Bateman's attorneys immediately filed to have it continued.
Bateman has claimed to lead the Fundamentalist LDS Church since polygamist leader Warren Jeffs went to prison. However, Bateman and his followers have been characterized by church observers as the leader of an FLDS offshoot group. In August, FOX 13 News reported that Jeffs was reasserting control of his church from his Texas prison cell.
Bateman is accused in court documents of taking child brides. It appears authorities have been investigating him for transporting minors across state lines for sexual activity. So far, he has only faced charges related to obstructing federal agents' investigations. Three of Bateman's wives are also facing charges related to the disappearance of eight girls who were taken into child protective services custody following an FBI raid on Bateman's Colorado City, Ariz., home.
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