‘Trust Me: The False Prophet’: Netflix’s New Docuseries Goes Undercover in FLDS Cult
It has been two decades since Warren Jeffs, the self-proclaimed “prophet” who led the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in Short Creek, Utah, was arrested for the sexual assault and abuse of minors. In director Rachel Dretzin’s 2022 docuseries Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, the filmmaker explored how Jeffs utilized his immense power to build an insular community and facilitate the systematic abuse of young girls. While Jeffs was eventually convicted in 2011 and sentenced to life in prison, the cycle of trauma did not end with his incarceration.
In the new Netflix docuseries Trust Me: The False Prophet, filmmakers Tolga Katas and Christine Marie, who moved to Utah in 2016, stumble upon a new religious leader attempting to seize control of the community. The series chronicles their dangerous undercover mission to save a new generation of girls from being targeted by a man who claimed to be Jeffs’ successor.
The Exploitation of Obedience
“This community is highly isolated. They’re in a remote part of Utah on the Arizona border. There’s very little interaction with the rest of the world,” director Rachel Dretzin recently told Vanity Fair. “The premium from birth in that community is obedience, particularly obedience to men. For women, that becomes complicated when the man above you—whether it’s your husband or the prophet—is telling you to do things in the name of God that are wrong.”
Filmed by the husband-and-wife duo Katas and Marie, Trust Me provides an unprecedented look at the FLDS community across Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and Nebraska. The new leader, Sam Bateman, built a tight-knit following by claiming he was Jeffs’ religious heir. Bateman asserted that God spoke to him, identifying specific women who were meant to belong to him. He eventually “married” 23 women, nine of whom were minors.
The Undercover Investigation
Katas and Marie gained access to Bateman’s inner circle by posing as documentary filmmakers interested in his journey. This ruse allowed them to film inside his home, eventually enabling Marie to build enough rapport with the women to learn the harrowing truth of their daily lives. The filmmakers used this trust to gather evidence of Bateman’s crimes, hoping to provide authorities with the proof needed to intervene.
However, the path to justice was fraught with obstacles. Law enforcement officials, including Sergeant David Wilkinson of the Colorado City-Hildale Police Department, noted that while they believed the footage was genuine, they required more than secret recordings to secure an arrest warrant. Bateman frequently married the mothers of his young victims, using their presence as a shield against accusations of wrongdoing.
The Downfall of a False Prophet
The FBI eventually became involved, working closely with Katas and Marie to secure the necessary evidence. “We needed Christine to keep playing her part and stay close to Sam,” FBI Special Agent Dawn Martin explains in the series. “Give him a rope and let him hang himself.”
In September 2022, Bateman was arrested on suspicion of child sexual abuse. Even after his arrest, his influence remained profound; many of his followers lied to police to protect him, and he later convinced them to kidnap the girls who had been taken into state custody. In 2024, at age 48, Bateman pleaded guilty to transporting a minor for sexual activity and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, receiving a 50-year prison sentence.
Despite his conviction, the psychological hold Bateman exerted over his followers persists. While some victims have begun the long process of recovery, many of the adult women remain loyal to him, speaking to him from prison daily. Trust Me: The False Prophet serves as both a chilling exposé of a modern-day cult and a testament to the enduring difficulty of breaking free from systemic mind control.
