Documentary Style
TopicalTrust Me: The False Prophet
Unprecedented undercover access inside an FLDS polygamist sect. A mesmerizing true crime series revealing how religious isolation shields abuse and why law enforcement struggles to intervene.
Year
2026
Type
series
Episodes
4
Language
English
Director
Rachel Dretzin
Genres
Summary
When Warren Jeffs was imprisoned in 2011, his FLDS polygamist community fractured. Into that void stepped Samuel Bateman - a rank-and-file member who proclaimed himself prophet and began taking wives, including minors.
Cult expert Christine Marie and her filmmaker husband moved to Short Creek, Utah, gaining Bateman's trust while secretly gathering FBI evidence. Built from covert footage, this series captures a cult leader manipulating followers and orchestrating abuse in real time. The parents of some of Bateman's wives emerge as haunting figures, simultaneously victims and unwitting participants.
What lingers is not just Bateman's crimes but how religious isolation creates accountability gaps that law enforcement struggles to close.