Trust Me: The False Prophet officer facing backlash after Sam Bateman audio statement

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Viewers are questioning a police officer from the Netflix series Trust Me: The False Prophet after he spoke about a disturbing audio recording. The recording features Samuel Bateman, a member of the FLDS church, confessing to horrific crimes.

The filmmaker behind Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey now presents a new documentary series that continues the story, focusing on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints following the arrest of its leader, Warren Jeffs.

Christine Marie, an expert in cult psychology, and her husband, Tolga Katas, a videographer, relocated to Short Creek, Utah, hoping to assist the community. However, they discovered a new leader, Sam Bateman, had emerged, claiming to be the successor to the previous leader and was now engaging in abusive behavior.

Marie and Katas pretended to support him so they could gather evidence. They secretly recorded him confessing to sexual assault and abusing children. Unfortunately, when they presented the recording to the police, authorities said it wasn’t sufficient to obtain an arrest warrant.

Samuel Bateman investigator facing backlash from Trust Me: The False Prophet viewers

In the second episode of Trust Me: The False Prophet, Sergeant David Wilkinson of the Colorado City/Hildale Police Department reveals he only listened to the audio recording once. He claims he didn’t want to upset himself by listening again, saying he didn’t want to ‘burden’ his ‘gentle heart’.

Viewers of the Netflix documentary are questioning the validity of this comment, despite the fact that Wilkinson was involved in the investigation.

Marie secretly recorded the conversation after Bateman invited her and Katas on a car ride with three of his other wives. During the drive, Bateman said he’d received an “impression,” which he described as a message from God.

I was absolutely horrified to learn the details of what Bateman did. He basically forced three of his wives – one was just a child at 13 years old – into sexual situations with three other men, Torrance Bistline, Ladell Bistline Jr., and Moroni Johnson, and he watched it all happen. It’s just unbelievably cruel and disturbing.

Marie realized this was the first instance of clear evidence showing children were being sexually abused. However, when she brought the recording to the police, they told her it didn’t provide enough proof.

The documentary then shows Wilkinson explaining that police need more than just one tape and the word of the person who made it to obtain an arrest warrant. But it was what he said before this explanation that has really struck viewers as noteworthy.

He recalls Sam discussing sexual activity between adult men and young women, but doesn’t remember the precise language used. He adds that he hasn’t revisited the content since hearing it originally.

I try not to dwell on the difficult details of these cases, because they often contain information that’s emotionally upsetting.

One viewer shared on Reddit that they were shocked by a scene where a police officer admitted to deliberately avoiding listening to a crucial tape—containing evidence of crimes against women and children—because he didn’t want to upset himself. He claimed he didn’t want to ‘burden’ himself with such upsetting information, saying it would ‘hurt his gentle heart’.

Someone expressed strong disbelief and frustration, saying, “Are you serious? It’s your responsibility to have that information and use it!” Another person chimed in, adding that the situation was upsetting, saying they struggled to remain calm thinking about the people actually affected.

Someone else commented on how long it took to get a response, calling it “pathetic.” Another person shared they reacted strongly while watching alone when a police officer said something specific.

People questioned calling the town a pleasant place to live, considering the terrible things Jeff did there.

Someone described the city as a charming and innocent small town, though they weren’t sure of the exact words and might refine the quote later.

This location was recently connected to a large-scale sex crime ring involving the exploitation of children. Christine Marie had warned someone about a man who was reportedly trafficking his own children to adult men, and had even provided a confession related to these crimes.

Many viewers expressed frustration that someone didn’t step in earlier. One person shared, “I just watched that part and was so upset I yelled at the screen. And calling the victims ‘young women’? They’re children, not women.”

Phrasing things that way downplays how serious the abuse was. Saying there wasn’t enough evidence is ridiculous – they had a recorded confession! The police simply didn’t want to cause trouble, even though he admitted what he did.

Honestly, I was thinking the same thing – how could a recording like that not get the authorities involved? Like, wouldn’t that be grounds for a search warrant, or even for someone to bug the house? I’m so glad Agent Dawn was there, though. Those little girls… it just breaks my heart thinking about what they went through.

Bateman was ultimately arrested by federal authorities and given a 50-year prison sentence. His partners in crime also received jail time.

You can now watch the true crime documentary “Trust Me: The False Prophet” on Netflix. If you’re interested in other true crime stories, you might also want to check out the latest updates on Kaitlin Armstrong’s case, learn about the disappearance of Skylar Neese, or watch “Storyville: The Darkest Web.”

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2026-04-09 17:54