Polygamist cult member admits trafficking four underage girls across the Arizona-Utah border in scheme with depraved 'prophet' who took more than 20 wives - including ten children

A polygamous cult member has pleaded guilty to conspiring with a depraved 'prophet' to traffic underage girls across the Arizona-Utah border for sexual activity.  

Moroni Johnson, who faces 10 years to life in prison, pleaded guilty Tuesday to his part 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 in the plot that played out over a three-year period ending in September 2022.

It comes after the businessman told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview earlier this year that Bateman took advantage of his deep-seated Mormon faith and controlled him with a toxic mix of physical, mental and sexual abuse. 

Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because he wasn't treating the self-anointed leader as a prophet. 

Moroni Johnson, 51, (above) has admitted his part in a scheme to traffic underage girls for sex

Authorities say the plot was driven by the self-proclaimed prophet of a polygamous cult, Samuel Bateman (pictured), who is currently awaiting trial in Arizona 

Bateman remains in custody after he was arrested twice earlier this year. He was first apprehended in August after he was caught towing his underaged 'wives' in a trailer in Flagstaff, Arizona 

Bateman, 46, had created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the FLDS, officials say.

The cult has historically been 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 referred to as the Mormon church which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. 

Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.

The FBI said Bateman had taken 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 had sex with minor girls on a regular basis. 

Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.

The FBI said Bateman demanded that his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and shared those confessions widely. 

He claimed the punishments, which ranged from a time out to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said.

Johnson told DailyMail.com in January that he allowed scheming Bateman to marry several of his wives and most of his daughters – and funded his lavish lifestyle which included two sprawling homes in Colorado City, Arizona, and a fleet of Bentley cars.

He claimed he took part in humiliating rituals on Bateman's orders and was, on one occasion, made to have sex with one of his wives in front of their daughters in order to show them how to 'please' the pervert prophet. 

 Johnson, 51, told DailyMail.com earlier this year how depraved Bateman took advantage of his deep-seated Mormon faith and controlled him with mental, physical and sexual abuse

An exclusive DailyMail.com photo shows Bateman waving from the front seat of one of the Bentley Flying Spurs – which cost more than $200,000 new

Bateman was living in the Mormon community of Short Creek, where he and his 23 wives lived in two homes – known as the 'blue house' and the 'green house' (pictured) 

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

Family and followers of Bateman gather around as he calls from police custody following his arrest in Colorado City on September 13

The blue house was home to Bateman's followers. Wives who were being '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 the Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and was once a devoted 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 gap on an enclosed trailer. 

Authorities found three girls — between the ages of 11 and 14 — in the trailer, which had a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs and no ventilation.

Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again in the next month and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.

At the time of the second arrest, authorities removed nine children from Bateman's home in Colorado City 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 part in getting them out of 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 commit tampering in an official proceeding and conspiracy to commit kidnapping of the girls who were placed in state child welfare agency after his arrest. 

Myles Schneider, an attorney representing Bateman, didn't immediately return a call seeking comment on behalf of his client.

Bateman was ordered jailed until the resolution of his trial, now scheduled for September 10.

Earlier this year, four of Bateman's adult wives each pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding, acknowledging that they witnessed Bateman engage in sexual acts with his child brides and that also they participated in the plot to kidnap the eight girls from state custody.

Charges also are pending against four other women identified as Bateman's wives and two of his male followers, both of whom are charged with using a means of interstate commerce to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, among other charges. 

The four women and two men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.