01x02 - The Prophet, the Queen and a Camera

[bunniefuu]

[birds chirping]

[pensive music playing]

[Christine] After I got Sam's confession,

I gave the audio
to the local police department.

I say, "I got a bombshell."

"I have evidence. I have proof.
I have the proof you've been waiting for."

[Sam] It was not adultery.
It was obedience.

And I expected, maybe, you know,
within three days I would get a call back.

You know, "Yep, this is it.
We're gonna go arrest him."

But it took a while
for the police to get back to us.

So we kept filming.

[pensive music continues]

[Tolga] Here we are in the Bentley
with the man with the plan.

Wow, what an interior.
I love it. The white jacket and the tan.

[beeping]

I would ask questions
to try to get more information.

So, I'm sorry
that I'm not educated in this.

[Sam] That's all right.

But it was revealed to you,
what to do to save them?

All I know is I was sitting
in one of our meetings one morning,

and I was like, "Holy sh*t."

And I said, "I will obey."

'Cause the Lord told me
to… to do this thing.

So do you think that

the reason you had to witness it

was so that you would hurt?

It is pain.

They're my sweethearts. There's nothing
on the earth more precious to me

than the virtue

of women in general and my own wives.

I think he wanted somebody to say,
"Wow. You must be the new Messiah,

that you would hurt like Jesus."

-I…
-[Christine] Did you cry?

I couldn't even cry. I didn't even… I…
I was so shocked, I didn't cry. I don't…

I don't think.

Yeah, I did, sorry. I did cry.

But watch,

you'll… you'll find out
that God made me a prophet,

and you'll find out
that people will come back.

-They'll come begging… me for forgiveness.
-[Tolga] Yeah.

[Christine] Do you see
more wives joining the family?

[chuckles]

Probably.

[hesitating] Yeah. Yeah.

[music ends]

[poignant music playing]

[rooster crowing]

[Esther] When Christine recorded Sam
talking about the sexual abuse,

I knew that it had her really worried
and worked up in her feelings

about what was going on there.

She was worried about the girls.

[Sam] Thank you so much, Christine,
for everything also.

We love you and God bless you.

[Christine] Eventually,
I heard back from the police,

who said that wasn't enough evidence.

[intriguing music playing]

[Sgt. Wilkinson] Christine had told me
about the recording.

In that recording,

Sam talks about adult men
having sex with young women.

Um, I don't remember
exact wording, obviously. I…

I haven't listened to it
since I listened to it the first time.

It's not something
I like to… to burden myself with

as… as we go through these cases

because there is a lot
of information that comes

that… that hurts a gentle heart.

[intriguing music continues]

We had a tape.

We had Christine Marie,

who could testify
that she created the tape.

-[Sam] Do you feel unclean?
-[underage wife] No.

[Sam] There was not wickedness.

[Sgt. Wilkinson] Based on
this single tape,

I didn't have enough for a warrant.

What was missing was the finer elements.

There was more evidence needed

before we could start

knocking at the hornet's nest,
if you will.

What we know

and what we can prove
beyond a reasonable doubt

are two very different things.

[insects chirping]

-[Christine] Hey, darlin'.
-[woman on phone] Hello.

[Christine] I talked to the investigator
to find out what they thought

after listening to the evidence.

-[Lola] Yes?
-But nope.

[Lola] Oh my gosh.

[Christine] Even though the tape
was strong, Sam could deny it.

[Lola] Wow.

[inhales deeply] In the meantime,

he's just the cruelest b*stard
I've ever met.

[Lola] Yeah.

I was worried for my mom.

At the time,

my mom was at risk
of going to a darker and darker place

because of her firsthand experience
following someone like Sam Bateman.

Never judge. 'Cause I've been there.

I lost everything.

I was scammed, and I was, like,
uh, almost not here anymore.

I lost everything to being, uh…
to not understanding

who is… who to trust and who not to trust.

[Lola] Predators have just
always been drawn to her

'cause she really sees the best in people.

She sees the best in people
to a fault. [laughs]

[Lola on phone] Ugh, scary.

I was worried for her, but I also knew
that she was the only one

who could actually get him put in jail.

And to do that,

she would have to go even deeper.

[music fades]

[Sam] I don't know.
Is that how it's supposed to be?

Underneath the collar?

Like, if we put it under the collar,
then it's not seen.

-Okay, so do you want me to start?
-[Christine] Yeah. Yeah.

-Okay, once upon a time…
-[wives laugh]

…many, many moons ago… [chuckles]

[pensive music playing]

[Christine] While we were filming,

I was trying to get to know the girls more

and to understand
the women in Sam's group.

One person at a time?

Okay, start with your name.

[Sam] We call her Mother Anna.

I changed her name,
and she didn't even get mad at me.

-[chuckles]
-[Christine] Ah.

How did you go to Samuel?

[Anna] In 2019.

I was 22, and nobody
was gettin' married, you know.

-Our people weren't havin' children.
-[Christine] Yeah.

[Anna] But then my parents
started having children again.

So I felt like
it was the right thing to do.

[Christine] Yeah, I can understand that.

[Sam] Okay, Mother Shiny,
we're ready to hear some stuff.

To just have the impression
and go to a man

was completely against our traditions.

And yet, in my mind, I wanted to do it
because I wanted a baby so dang bad.

And Samuel's name, it came into my mind.

It said, "You belong to him."
This thing in the back of my mind.

-[Christine] He did? Oh…
-No, in the back of my mind.

-It was a still, small voice.
-A still, small voice.

-But it shook you to the very center.
-Yeah, it was very clear.

"You are a part

of the greatest events in history."

I know it's gonna sound weird,
but the spirit of God tells me to tell you

that there was a power that linked
everything through the whole universe.

I don't know why
the Lord opened my eyes to see,

but I did.

This is… This is real. It's a real thing.

Am I wrong?

-No.
-[Sam's wife] No.

I… I'm not wrong.

[Christine] I knew
they were putting on a show,

but I didn't know exactly
what was going on behind the scenes.

[music fades]

[Sam on phone] Hello, Christine.

Um, some of the girls were saying
that you wanted to hear more testimonies.

Is that true or…?

You bet it is.

It's so inspiring to hear them,
and I think it serves you well.

[Christine] I was not permitted
to be alone with the underage girls.

How are you?

But Sam started sending
his wives over to my house

because he wanted us to film
these storytelling testimony sessions

for the documentary.

-[poignant music playing]
-[Sam's wife] Yay!

[Christine] He wanted to capture
how much his girls love him.

[chuckling]

-[Sam's wife] Let's do it.
-[dog barking]

[Christine] Do you guys want to, um, eat…
eat while she's talking?

Just… Just don't burp.

[women laughing]

-[Christine] Are these your wedding rings?
-Yeah.

[wives giggling]

-[Christine] Do you have one?
-Yeah.

That's what happens when you're
married to the best man in the world.

[Christine] I wanna hear your thoughts

about how you came to know
you were to be his wife.

I knew that the Heavenly Father
wanted me to come be a part of his family.

This is where I wanna be,
so that's why I'm here.

I know that, like, he is
my only connection to Heavenly Father.

I cannot get
to Heavenly Father without him.

I have to have him. [chuckles]

-[Christine] It's pretty powerful.
-[chuckles]

-Your eternal life is in his hands?
-Mm-hmm.

[Christine] Had you already told
your mother and father?

My father knew about it when he called me.

[Christine] How did you find out?

She came and told me.

There is one man on this earth I trust,
and that is Samuel Bateman.

Samuel has come to wake us up to where…

where we're headed if we don't obey.

[Sam's wife] We're gonna head now.

[Christine] Tell Samuel
it was very successful.

See you.

[crickets chirping]

[Christine] Does it seem to you
that all those ladies love him?

[Tolga] They don't love him.

I mean, it's like… Ugh!

-I mean, that…
-Remember, when you're undercover…

you have to put your…
you have to compartmentalize.

[Tolga] I mean, those girls trust you.

More important that he's trusting you.
You know what I mean?

That's… You gotta keep that going.

[Christine] What do you think
about the mothers of these girls?

[Tolga] The older ones have some problems,
but they deal with it, you know?

Looking at all the girls there
that were Julia's…

[Tolga] Yeah.

[Christine] All of a sudden,
she has an empty nest

because Samuel has taken
all her daughters.

[tense music playing]

[Tolga] That's f*cked up.

[Christine] All of those children,

Julia thought
she was gonna continue raising.

She didn't expect to lose **** at age ten.

-You know?
-[Tolga] Yeah.

[Christine] My heart
really breaks for her.

-[Tolga] For Julia, yeah.
-[Christine] Yeah.

This is such a fictional world.

[birds chirping]

[music fades]

People didn't just jump into the situation

with just open arms.

[pensive music playing]

My husband, Moroni,
and I had been married for over 25 years.

And we didn't have any communication
with the prophet Warren Jeffs

for many years.

Not having church leadership
just right there to counsel with,

it was hard.

So I would ask questions to Moroni.

Nothin' worth… worth anything
in this life is easy.

[Julia] Women are taught
to submit to the men.

And as the father,
he was the ruling power over our family.

And so when Moroni started following Sam,

that made me make that change too.

And so, many of my sister-wives
and all of my daughters went to Sam.

Some people do those fancy braids,
but I never learned how to do 'em.

I did question the things we were doin'.

But I said, well, maybe there's something
I'm not comprehending or understanding,

and if I'll just hang on,
I can better understand it.

Because I felt like he wouldn't

ask me to do something
that would be harmful to myself

or destructive to our family.

[pensive music continues]

[music fades]

[Christine] So keep this
very, very confidential.

It became clear
that if I wanted real information,

I would have to talk to somebody
who was not under Sam's control.

We have things to talk about.

Moroni had a son named Warren Levi,
who did not support Sam.

He was very worried
about his mother and his sisters

and agreed to secretly meet with me.

[Warren Levi] Starting in 2019,

Sam married seven of my sisters
ranging in age from 20-ish

down to nine years old.

Married is just a phrase to say that

Sam currently can do whatever he pleases…

-Right.
-…with the girls.

[Christine] Did you ever see
Sam kiss the underage girls?

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

[brooding music playing]

There was none of 'em that went easy
to get married to Sam. Not one of 'em.

Every one of 'em
referred to him as the devil.

I remember Sam came to me, and he's like,

"The Lord has told me
that your little sister belongs to me."

But I was like, "She's nine years old.
She's not ready for this mentally."

But we've been taught
to respect our fathers.

Don't question.

The girls trust Moroni,

and Moroni is owned by Sam Bateman.

[brooding music continues]

-[tapping]
-[Tolga] There you go.

I knew the parallel
between every one of the prophets

and… President Samuel R. Bateman.

[Tolga] That's powerful stuff.

I started spending a lot of time
with Sam's male followers.

Especially Moroni.

I'm learning from you.

I wanted to understand why he's convinced
that Sam is speaking for God.

How do you know
Samuel is the true prophet of God?

I knew he had a position
before Heavenly Father that was above me.

I… I could tell.

[Tolga] All of a sudden,
Sam felt this and that and whatever?

Oh, Tolga, this thing is so deep.

Oh.

[Christine] About eight months before
Sam named himself the prophet,

Moroni started doing his own thinking.

It's a time no one was supposed to be

getting married, having babies.

But Moroni started taking new wives

and having children
without the blessings of Warren Jeffs.

He was shunned by the town.

He didn't know,
would he ever be FLDS again?

I mean, that was his culture,

his lifelong investment.

He felt like
he had really sinned against God.

[Moroni] We're in a hell of a fix.

We say we know the spirit of God,

but I've dabbled.

We're gonna get
the sh*t whipped out of us.

[Christine] Moroni,
he thinks, "I'm going to hell."

"Life is over."

But Sam, who now represents himself
as speaking for Warren Jeffs,

starts embracing Moroni.

He's offering a path
to salvation, basically.

[keyboard clacking]

Sam was putting him
and his family up on a pedestal.

-[kid giggling]
-Hi, son.

-[kid] I'm trying to hide, yeah.
-I know, but you gotta catch me first.

Ahh!

Moroni's like, "I have a second chance."

At that point, Sam becomes God to Moroni.

No man chose Samuel Rappylee Bateman.

[intriguing music playing]

God hath done it.

Sam had no reservations now

about commanding that people obey him.

[keyboard clacking]

Moroni would take his money,

give everything to Sam,

and then Sam wanted more
and more and more.

Like Moroni's wives and daughters.

-[Tolga] Yeah…
-Is that still recording?

[Tolga] Yeah, sorry.

-[crickets chirping]
-[wind whooshing]

[Christine] We actually
are borrowing someone's car

so nobody can recognize our car.

[woman on phone] Oh, good.

Come, and there's a house
with a white fence all the way around it.

[Christine] Okay.

-[brooding music playing]
-We'll just sit here quietly.

I was looking to talk
to somebody that was on the inside

who had talked to the girls one-on-one.

[line ringing]

Hey, I'm in the black car. Come on out.

[Tolga] You're putting your beams
in somebody's bedroom.

[Christine] There was an FLDS lady

who was related
to all of the people who followed Sam

in one way or another.

She was really concerned
about what was going on.

He has 'em so flippin' mixed up,
it's not funny.

[Christine] There are children
being sexually molested.

[Netty] It just doesn't make sense.

Why does a girl have to get ruined
before she can get help?

He is a predator.

Using everything that they've been taught

and turning it.

[Christine] Yep.

When he goes and digs into the scriptures,
and he tries to manipulate things

and twist them to capture their purity.

And they don't realize.

I just, like…

-Inside I really am grateful, but like…
-[baby crying]

…like, there's all this selfishness.

That's why you have to exert
that positive energy, and it goes away.

Exert it, fervently.

-Okay?
-Okay.

-And then just cheer up, babe.
-Okay.

Thanks.

[Christine] Naomi, who we call "Nomz,"

was always next to Sam.

[Netty] She only thinks
what he's planted in there.

She doesn't even have

a mind of her own anymore.

She had been harassed to no end,

and she finally got to the point
where she was exhausted,

and she gave in.

Oh boy.

Nomz's aunt said,

"I really don't know

how this is gonna end up."

She's seen the battle
that Nomz has mentally fought.

It'll last forever.

I don't mind that.

[Naomi's aunt] My niece Naomi married Sam.

It was really heartbreaking to my sister.

Nomz, she was under a lot of pressure

to go be part of Sam's family.

[ominous music playing]

-[Christine] You're wife number…?
-I'm 13.

-[Christine] You're 13. Okay.
-Wife number 13.

Okay.

[Christine] It was Ladell Jr.

who brought her
into the Sam Bateman group.

[Tolga] What's your relation to Ladell?

-He's my cousin.
-[Tolga] Oh, he's your cousin.

Yeah, and he was also, like,
my caretaker for ten years.

[Carole] Since Nomz was very young,

Lud took care of her family.

She really idolized Lud.

And when he started
to get in cahoots with Sam,

he wanted Nomz to be

a part of Sam's thing.

Her mom tried really hard
to talk her out of it.

But Nomz respected and loved Lud.

He's like, "I feel impressed that
you should come out and listen to Samuel."

Father Samuel, he said,

"Heavenly Father impressed me
to tell you that you belong in my family."

And like, I went, like, stone-cold.

Like, "No way. There goes my whole life.
There goes everything."

I mean… [chuckles]

Ladell would talk to her,
and he would send her texts.

It took a very long time to convince her.

[Naomi] It wasn't till, like, November
that I actually got married.

But once I had committed,
like, submitted myself to it

was when Heavenly Father
gave me the courage and the strength.

She'd been coerced
and kind of manipulated into it.

[Naomi] I mean, I was like,
this has to be right.

If it's not right, what is?

I would like to know.

I've lived my entire life
not knowing what the right thing is,

and I wanna know what is right.

[Christine] So,

Naomi, did you make the right decision?

I did. [chuckles]

The only thing I regret
is that I didn't go sooner.

-[Christine] Really? Wow.
-That's the only thing I regret in life.

[Carole] We groomed our girls for this.

We're not teaching them
to question authority.

We're not teaching them
to be critical thinkers.

We're teaching 'em strict obedience.

[music fades]

[Christine] What do you think
represents you guys really well?

-Class. Probably.
-[laughing]

I don't know. What you think?

-Yeah.
-[Christine] When do you do class next?

-We can do it right now.
-[Christine gasps] Let's do it.

Sam did a lot of trainings.

Hours and hours and hours of class.

And they became
more bizarre by the minute.

Good.

Anyway, I was just explaining

that, uh, goals…

Goals are so important.

So write down your goals.
We actually have--

I don't have mine with me,
but we have goal cards.

Pull out your goal cards, would ya?

-I'd love to hear some of your goals.
-[Sam] Yes.

My goals are to be
the most influential person on Earth.

[Christine] Mm-hmm.

And to… govern North and South America
and probably England.

[Christine] Okay.

[babies cooing]

[Sam] And to bring
the Queen of England to my home.

[pensive music playing]

[Sam] And I believe that
that's part of my mission.

But she's not gonna come
to this chicken coop.

She just ain't.

[Christine] Wow.

Get the house, would you? Real quick.

This is what I've drawn up here.

[Christine] "Coming soon!"

[Sam] One of the most beautiful homes
I've ever seen, and I know it'll happen.

-That's beautiful. Did you get that?
-[Tolga] I got it.

[whispering] That was weird.

He's building this fantasy world

with all these followers.

[Sam's wife] These are things
we're envisioning as time goes on.

Things that we…
Some of 'em, we already have.

[Christine] Oh!

And then he also started
putting things on YouTube.

Hi. Samuel Bateman here.

Hi. Samuel Bateman here.

I want to make a channel where I can
help other people take a step up.

All the extremely rich people say is,
"Find a mentor."

He was following these self-help gurus,

and he would regurgitate what he learned.

"Your word is your bond"
is really how you should think.

When you make that commitment
or say something, make sure you do it.

I've been talking
every day in our classes.

Don't think negative thoughts. Don't think
that something's gonna go wrong.

It literally will draw it to you.

Yeah, for sure.

[Christine] Everything he said and did,

I had to act like everything's okay.
We're cool with it.

[chuckles]

[Sam] Surround yourself with great people.

[Christine] That's why
I like to be around you guys.

-[chuckling]
-Feelings are mutual.

[pensive music continues]

I'm so grateful for what Christine does.

She… She just loves people.

She was going over there a lot.

[indistinct chatter]

There were people who thought

that Christine was there
supporting him and helping him.

[Christine] Precious.

Truly a daughter of the king.

There were a lot of people
accusing her of empowering him.

[laughing]

[Christine] Are you serious?

I couldn't defend myself.

I couldn't come out with the fact
that I was playing a role

because my plan, it was working.

[Tolga] This is recording,
and this is recording.

They started being a little more loose
with the things they would say.

[Tolga] Okay, whoever has the mic.

[Christine] Forgive me for asking,

but how did you get a crash course
in the birds and the bees

between the time you got married?

He ended up telling me.
I was innocent as heck.

[Christine] So Samuel himself taught you?

How old are you?

Fifteen.

[unsettling music playing]

[Sam's wife] There's no such thing
as an underage marriage in the priesthood.

The Lord can tell,

and why would he hold the 15-year-old back
from the blessings, if she's ready?

[Christine] They were talking openly
about the sexual activity

that Sam was doing
with the underage girls.

[Sam's wife] He had made it seem

so sacred and…

[Christine] Mm-hmm.

…like, celestial.
I don't know how else to put it.

And he said it brings such an increase,
like, of the spirit of God.

That resulted in another call
to the police.

Christine is telling the local police,
"This is human trafficking."

The local police said, "Just give us
everything you have. We'll look at it."

[mouse clicking]

They went through it for months.
Nothing happens.

-We are flying very close to the sun.
-[Lola on phone] Yeah.

We get no guidance at all.

And I wish

that I could discuss what our strategy is

with somebody in law enforcement,

and I mean, we're sitting around
sh**ting from the hip,

and I… I feel so alone.

[Lola] God, those girls.

[Tolga] I'd be filming something,

and there's always two or three girls
in the back, completely destroyed.

You could just see them crying.

The law wants you
to basically get in bed with them

and film it before the guy's arrested.

I mean, what kind of f*cking sh*t is that?

[Esther] It was like Sam felt like he had

all authority to do whatever he wanted.

I think he felt like
that he was unstoppable.

I don't know, do you feel
forced to be here or anything?

[Sam's wife] No.

No? Are you lying?

No.

How do you know
that I'm not just deceiving you?

[Christine] Sam was very clever

because he married
some of the mothers of the child brides.

So when Child and Family Services
interviewed them,

he could say, "The mothers are here too."

Did you know that the CPS has been here,
and they didn't find anything?

Of course not.

We're not doing wrong.

[unsettling music continues]

[Mike] I've covered
virtually every significant

and not-so-significant bad guy
in this story.

I don't know a single individual

that has set off more flares,
waved more red flags

than Samuel Bateman.

I became acquainted
with Christine and Tolga,

and I knew what they were doing,

but they're not cops.

If that's what law enforcement needs
to bust a case,

getting a documentary crew inside,

and they still don't act
with any sense of urgency…

[crickets chirping]

[line ringing]

[on voicemail] This is
Sergeant David Wilkinson

with the Colorado City Marshal's Office.

Please leave me a detailed voice message.
Thank you.

[voicemail chimes]

There were so many things
that I didn't know.

I didn't know how to proceed.

And I was incredibly scared

of what was
really happening in Sam's house.

What is going on when we're not there?

What abuse could be stopped?

[line ringing]

I called Sergeant Wilkinson
a number of times.

[Sgt. Wilkinson on phone]
Hello, Christine.

Christine Marie kept feeding us
information that she gathered,

and so I was working
desperately to follow up

on each of the pieces of information

to make sure that we established

and could support
everything we presented to a prosecutor.

And as some would say,
tie it up in a pretty little bow.

[on phone] Again,
this is still a work in progress.

[Christine] And I let him know

I thought the FBI should be involved.

He said the FBI requires,
you know, multi-state criminal activity.

And I said, "Well, we have it."

[Sam's wife chuckling]
We went to Colorado.

-[Tolga chuckling] You did?
-We went to Lincoln, Nebraska.

-[Tolga] Nebraska? Why Nebraska?
-It was just where Moroni was inspired.

[Tolga] Oh, Moroni. Yeah. Got it.

[Christine] There's Lincoln, Nebraska.
There's Monument, Colorado.

There's Utah and Arizona.

It was interstate human trafficking.

And eventually,

my pestering did have a positive effect.

[pensive music playing]

[Sgt. Wilkinson] Hello, Christine.

Hi.

Sergeant Wilkinson called me and said,
"I have some news you're gonna like."

"We're going to have a meeting,

and we would like you to do a presentation

on what you know
about the Sam Bateman group."

[Sgt. Wilkinson] So are you okay
with 2:30 to the FBI field office?

Yes.

[Sgt. Wilkinson] You're gonna be meeting
with a Dawn Martin out of Flagstaff.

[music fades]

[Christine] I want to video journal
where we're going right now.

Tolga and I are on the way
to talk to the FBI.

It's complicated
because, like, two hours ago,

many of these girls were at my house.

[poignant music playing]

If they know
that I am the one turning stuff in,

then they will never trust
an outsider again.

[Tolga] Well, this is what you do, baby.
You're trying to stop child r*pe.

-This is no joke.
-I have to speak up. There's not a choice.

[Tolga] That's what I'm saying.
So you don't have a choice.

[pensive music playing]

[Christine] When we went
to the FBI office,

I spoke to FBI agent Dawn Martin.

[Dawn] By the time
this case was presented to me,

I had been with the Bureau 18 years.

I had spent the previous ten years
working child sex crimes.

This case was brought to us
by local law enforcement.

They told me about Christine and Tolga,

who had lived in the community
for several years

and had provided these video recordings.

My understanding is some
of the agencies had incriminating videos

as early as November of '21.

I don't know why
it took 'em so long to come to the FBI.

Christine had spent
evidently many, many months

trying to get somebody to listen
and to do something.

The first recording
that I heard was related

to a November incident in a Bentley.

[Sam] There could not be anything worse
than another man screwing my girls.

When somebody brags
about having young girls

involved in sex acts with other men,

how can you not investigate that?

[Tolga] Okay, it's rolling. Go ahead.

[Dawn] There were 23 wives,

nine of which were minor children.

[intriguing music playing]

I realized that it needed
to be taken care of

and taken care of
in a more expeditious manner.

I just remember

feeling like finally
somebody is sharing this burden with me.

Hide that. Hop in.

[Dawn] We try not to divulge names
of sources or confidential informants,

but I will say that Christine was in
a unique position to provide information.

[Christine] Well, I'm going to spend
a lot more time over there.

-That is my goal.
-[Tolga] Yeah.

[Dawn] When you start an investigation,

you do a little bit of a background check,

and I didn't have any concerns
working so closely with them

because they were providing
video evidence as raw footage.

[computer chimes]

It was definitely
an unusual set of circumstances.

Not very often do you have somebody

willing to and wanting to be recorded
all of the time.

Especially talking about some
of the heinous crimes he was committing.

But it is very difficult
to prosecute a case

without someone to testify

that they were the victim of a crime.

We did not have that.

[Christine] I always feel inspired
when I come here.

-[Sam's wives chuckling]
-[baby cooing]

[Dawn] Christine was
putting her all into this.

Him and them.

[Dawn] She was there every day.

-[Sam] I'm a billionaire.
-[Tolga] You are? Already?

Put a price on one girl.

I'm the richest man on Earth

because Heavenly Father
blessed me with these girls.

[Christine] I started to drop hints

a little more directly.

Can I make a comment right here?

Okay, so there's a book
called The Gift of Fear,

and I actually
would recommend you all read it

because it's how
to stay safe from predators.

I asked that because
of my own personal story

because there were actual things

to help you really spot
people who have bad intentions.

If somebody ignores when you say no,

um, that is a red flag.

That's what I'm saying. Be bold and blunt.

If you say no, you mean it.

[Christine] It's very good
for you guys to be aware of this.

[Sam] Somehow we've got to step up out
of this immorality.

And if there's some way that I could be
used as an instrument to help step up.

Lift your mind to a loftier spirit.

-There's something better out there…
-Yeah.

…than just lusting after women.

I was hoping that one of the women
would think for themselves.

[pensive music playing]

[whimpering, barking]

[Christine] And then I started to notice
Julia coming over to my house

with her little toddler,
visiting the animals.

[chicks cheeping]

I was happy about that because usually

people who followed Sam
didn't come over alone.

Well, she came over more than once.

I even saw her one time
raking leaves in my yard.

I realized she was coming up
with reasons to come over here.

Bingo.

That's when it hit me.

Julia has something to tell me.

I mean, I had been dreaming of the moment

that somebody would come to me.

[Julia] I sensed that Christine

was making herself available.

[somber music playing]

I did wonder
if she was the one I could go to

and ask for this help.

And then I caught myself, and I'm like,
"There's no way, you cannot say this."

I said,

"I want you to know
that anything you tell me,

I am not gonna tell Sam."

She starts to tell me some things.

She was really general.

She let me know

there was a lot of suffering going on.

But she didn't come out
and say anything negative about Sam.

I thought, "I know exactly what to do."

I decided it was time
that I tell her my story.

[Julia] We went in on her kitchen table,

and she got out a file box.

[Christine] So look at this.

[Julia] And she started
to tell me a story.

She started to tell how her mind was led,

deceitfully, little by little,

by a false prophet

to do things

that she'd have never done ever.

[Christine] I too had been deceived.

I believed
that I was the wife of a prophet.

My false prophet told me,

"Obedience is everything."

"Obedience is the key to eternal life."

[somber music continues]

He told me I needed to go through tests.

It started in small steps.

I had to sell things
that were very precious to me.

I complied.

I had already sacrificed my business.

And then

he told me I had to

be separated from my children.

Then I had to go

live among the poor and needy

and be abased before men.

I believed that there would be,

eventually, a divine payoff.

And that meant I had to do
what he said or risk my soul.

I was basically sex trafficked.

One of his directions was

that he wanted proof
that I was being sexually exploited.

So…

somebody, a man,

took a picture of me.

Little by little,

with each test and each rebuke,

I got more confused.

I couldn't even recognize myself.

He said I had to go through tests first

to be worthy of being a prophet's wife.

This whole underlined part right here.

[Christine] Does that remind you
of Samuel?

Yeah.

A lot of it does.

It's just disgusting.

And I just broke down.

And I started to just say…

[unsettling music playing]

"…We are in deep trouble with sexual sins

under this…

false idea of religion."

And I knew that to get help,

I needed to reveal to this woman

the sickening things I've done

and been a part of.

[music fades]

[enigmatic music playing]

[music fades]