Polygamous sect member with ties to Lincoln pleads guilty in scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children [Video]

PHOENIX (AP) – A businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with the leader of an offshoot polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border to transport underage girls across state lines, making him the first man to be convicted in what authorities say was a scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children.

Moroni Johnson, who faces 10 years to life in prison, acknowledged that he participated in a scheme to transport four girls under the age of 18 for sexual activity. Authorities say the conspiracy between the 53-year-old Johnson and the sect’s leader, self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman, occurred over a three-year period ending in September 2022.

At one point, Johnson lived in Lincoln. A traffic citation he received in Dec. 2020 showed a Lincoln address.

SAMUEL BATEMAN

Authorities say Bateman …