Trust Me: The False Prophet is a four part Netflix docuseries that came out on April 9, 2026. It follows cult expert Christine Marie and her husband Tolga Katas as they go undercover inside a dangerous splinter group. They moved to Short Creek, Utah, in 2016 to document what was happening after FLDS leader Warren Jeffs went to prison. The person they found was Samuel Bateman, a man who declared himself a prophet and took at least 10 underage girls as his “spiritual wives.” The documentary tells a disturbing story. But there are several things it does not fully cover or leaves out completely. Here is the full true story, including what the cameras missed.
Who Was Samuel Bateman? The Man Behind the Prophet Mask
Samuel Bateman was a machinist and later a real estate agent. He lived in Colorado City, Arizona, right on the Utah border. After Warren Jeffs was sentenced to prison in 2011 for child sexual assault, a power vacuum opened. Bateman saw his chance.
In 2019, he began calling himself a prophet. He claimed Jeffs now spoke through him. He gathered followers across Arizona, Utah, Nebraska, and Colorado. His claims grew extreme. Court documents show Bateman said God told him to marry his own daughter. He stopped working and lived off money from his followers. He used that money to buy luxury cars like Bentleys.
The Shocking Numbers the Documentary Mentions Briefly
Bateman had about 50 followers total. He claimed 22 spiritual wives. At least 10 of those wives were minors. Some girls were as young as 9 years old. He took the daughters and sometimes the wives of his male followers. He forced these girls and women into group and individual sexual acts. He also transmitted live video of child sexual abuse to other followers.
One court document describes how Bateman introduced his biological daughter to a 9 year old girl as her “new mother.” That detail appears in the documentary but only for a moment. The full weight of that betrayal is hard to watch.
What the Documentary Doesn’t Tell You: The Fingers in the Trailer
The documentary shows Bateman’s arrest in August 2022. But it does not spend much time on the disturbing detail that broke the case open. Bateman was pulled over by Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers near Flagstaff. Inside his vehicle were several underage girls. But that is not what alerted the troopers first.
In a trailer being towed behind the vehicle, troopers saw the fingers of three minors sticking through wooden slats. That is how they knew someone was hiding inside. That detail is almost too strange to believe. The documentary touches on it but does not explain how those troopers felt in that moment. One trooper later said in a court filing that he thought he was looking at kidnapped children.
What the Documentary Leaves Out: The Foster Care Kidnapping
After Bateman’s arrest, the FBI raided his home in Colorado City. Agents removed nine children and placed them in foster care. Then eight of those children disappeared from their foster homes. The documentary shows this but does not tell you how scared those foster parents were.
The children were later found hundreds of miles away in Washington State. They were inside a vehicle driven by one of Bateman’s adult wives. Bateman admitted later that he helped orchestrate the kidnapping plot from a jail phone. That call was recorded. The documentary includes a snippet. But it does not play the full call where Bateman calmly tells his followers to erase evidence and take the children across state lines.
What the Documentary Doesn’t Say About His Sentence
The documentary ends with Bateman getting 50 years in prison. But it does not show the judge’s full statement. On December 9, 2024, a federal judge looked at Bateman and said, “You raped them on a regular basis. You are the worst kind of abuser.” The judge also noted that Bateman showed no real remorse. He only felt sorry for getting caught.
The documentary also leaves out that Bateman’s case was the first time a leader of a polygamous group was convicted specifically for the abuse of underage girls. Seven of his male followers were later charged by federal prosecutors. That number is not mentioned in the series.
Where Is Samuel Bateman Now? The Documentary Doesn’t Fully Answer
Trust Me: The False Prophet shows Bateman in prison. But it does not tell you that he still controls his followers from his cell. Director Rachel Dretzin told Fox News that Bateman makes many daily calls. He reinforces his hold on followers who now consider him a martyr.
Christine Marie, the undercover expert, told Netflix’s Tudum that “that communication with him is like an IV of indoctrination.” She said, “They are getting certainty fed directly into their vein — their conviction that he is communicating with God.” The documentary hints at this but does not explain how dangerous it is. Bateman has not stopped being a prophet in his own mind. And his followers still listen.
What Happened to the Victims That the Documentary Glosses Over
Of Bateman’s adult wives, only two testified against him in court. Their names are Naomi “Nomz” Bistline and Moretta Johnson. The documentary interviews them briefly. But it does not go into detail about how they found the courage to speak up or the threats they received afterward.
All nine of Bateman’s underage victims left the sect. They were placed into foster care. That forced separation helped them break free from Bateman’s influence. Director Dretzin noted that this removal helped them the most. The adult wives who stayed in the community remained vulnerable. That distinction is important. The documentary mentions it but does not linger.
The One Thing the Documentary Got Right
To be fair, the documentary does a good job showing Christine Marie and Tolga Katas’s undercover work. Marie had her own past with a false prophet. That personal history gives her a unique perspective. The documentary lets her speak at length. That part is honest and powerful.
Trust Me: The False Prophet is a solid documentary. It tells a disturbing true story. But it leaves out key details that make the story even darker and stranger. The fingers in the trailer. The full judge’s statement. The ongoing control from prison. The kidnapping of foster children. Those are the parts the documentary did not tell you. Now you know them.
Trust Me: The False Prophet is streaming on Netflix.
