Wife of polygamist 'Mormon prophet' arrives at court shackled to face federal ... trends now

One of a so-called 'Mormon prophet's' many wives was pictured with her wrists and ankles shackled, wearing a blue jumpsuit covering her long dress, as she arrived at a federal court in Arizona Wednesday to face federal kidnapping charges.

Donnae Barlow is accused — along with two of her sister-wives — of helping eight young girls escape protective custody last month under the apparent orders of their husband, Samuel Rappylee Bateman, 46.

She, Moretta Rose Johnson and Naomi Bistline are said to have transported the girls across state lines after the girls were found earlier this month hiding out at an Airbnb in Spokane, Washington, with Johnson.

The girls — at least one of whom is as young as nine — had been taken into protective custody by the Arizona Department of Child Services back in September, when a whistleblower revealed how Bateman married up to 20 women and underage girls, including his own daughter. 

Bateman leads a splinter group of the radical Mormon offshoot Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or FLDS. 

He has been in federal custody ever since, as authorities allege he sex trafficked these 'young girls' between Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Nebraska.

According to court documents obtained by KXLY, eight of the nine girls who had been rescued from Bateman's Colorado City home by the Arizona Department of Child Services in September ran away from their group homes on November 27.

Soon after, federal investigators discovered they were still in a group chat with some of the adult wives, and a criminal complaint says they left behind journals 'indicating 'Today is the day we go home.'

Federal officials now allege that Bateman made a call from jail to two of his adult wives who were driving together.

In the recorded phone conversation, the women could be heard saying they have two of the girls, according to the criminal complaint.

The next morning, it says, he called the women again and discovered all eight of the runaway wives were in a hotel room with the women.

And in a series of phone calls recorded by federal agents, Bateman could also be heard talking to the wives, who say they are on the move and traveling in separate groups so as not to get caught.

Eventually, though, court documents say, the FBI was able to track down a business card for VelociWrapper, a business run by one of Bateman's followers, and requested an emergency disclosure from Airbnb to find any addresses reserved by that follower or under any of his business accounts.

They found one such property listed in Spokane, Washington, and asked the Spokane County Sheriff's Department to knock on the door.

No one answered when they arrived at the house on December 1, court documents say, but a sergeant spotted a vehicle leaving the scene. 

Inside, they found Johnson and all of the eight missing girls. Barlow and Bistline were later also arrested for their roles in helping the girls escape.

It remains unclear what happened at Barlow's initial court appearance on Wednesday, but if she is convicted she could face up to 20 years behind bars. 

Bateman has become a powerful leader of the FLDS, after becoming its prophet when Warren Jeffs went to prison for sexually abusing minors.

While in power, an affidavit says, Bateman gained  'approximately 50 followers and more than 20 wives, many of whom are minors, mostly under the age of 15.'

Evidence cited in the court documents include recordings of Bateman himself, speaking to a couple in Colorado City, Arizona, who do outreach to the polygamy community there and are filming a documentary. 

In one example cited in the document, Bateman told the couple that the 'Heavenly Father' had instructed him in early November 2021 to 'give the

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