[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Yet another polygamist cult based on historical Mormonism and surrounding yet another pervert “prophet”.- Moroni Johnson, 53, is the first man to be convicted in the three-year plot
- Authorities say the scheme was led by a self-proclaimed 'prophet' Sam Bateman
- Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives, officials say
 A polygamous cult member has pleaded guilty to conspiring with a depraved 'prophet' to traffic underage girls across the Arizona-Utah border for sexual activity.
Moroni Johnson, who faces 10 years to life in prison, pleaded guilty Tuesday to his part in the scheme alongside the self-proclaimed leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), Samuel Bateman.
Johnson, 53, is the first man to be convicted in the plot that played out over a three-year period ending in September 2022.
It comes after the businessman told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview earlier this year that Bateman took advantage of his deep-seated Mormon faith and controlled him with a toxic mix of physical, mental and sexual abuse.
Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because he wasn't treating the self-anointed leader as a prophet.
Bateman, 46, had created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the FLDS, officials say.
The cult has historically been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, commonly referred to as the Mormon church which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.
Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
The FBI said Bateman had taken more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18.
Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the 'Heavenly Father.'
Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had sex with minor girls on a regular basis.
Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.
The FBI said Bateman demanded that his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and shared those confessions widely.
He claimed the punishments, which ranged from a time out to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said.
Johnson told DailyMail.com in January that he allowed scheming Bateman to marry several of his wives and most of his daughters – and funded his lavish lifestyle which included two sprawling homes in Colorado City, Arizona, and a fleet of Bentley cars.
He claimed he took part in humiliating rituals on Bateman's orders and was, on one occasion, made to have sex with one of his wives in front of their daughters in order to show them how to 'please' the pervert prophet.
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