Meet Christine Marie, the hero of Netflix’s Trust Me The False Prophet

Dear Jesus Christ (Latter-day Saint), terrible things are (still) happening within the FLDS community.

netflix‘S Trust Me: False Prophet (2026) is a four-part documentary series that captures the rise of Samuel Bateman, the self-proclaimed successor to convicted child abuser Warren Jeffs’ fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS). If you thought Jeffs was a bad guy, you’re right. But cult expert and sexual abuse survivor Dr. Christine Marie says The Hollywood Reporter Friends in the community say Bateman has had worse.

10 years ago Rachel Drechin2022 Netflix docuseries Keep it Sweet: Pray and ObeyThe book, which chronicles Jeffs’ crimes against children, arrests, life sentences, and 20 years in prison, follows Marie and her videographer husband Tolga Katas, who earned a doctorate in psychology and majored in media psychology, and moves to the small town of Short Creek, Utah, to help. They ended up helping more than they could have imagined.

Over the course of several years there, the couple worked undercover, of sorts, to infiltrate Batman’s cult and expose his dastardly deeds. After gaining Bateman’s trust under the pretense of filming brief documentary footage of Bateman’s teachings, Katas’ cameras captured evidence of continued horrific abuse, including more sexual crimes against minors. The footage was provided to local police, the FBI, and Dretzin. This resulted in numerous arrests and lengthy prison sentences. Bateman was sentenced to 50 years in prison. Trust Me: False Prophet.

read neckBelow is an interview with Marie, the undisputed hero of the docuseries.

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trust me There are many producers (Jeff Skoll, Courtney Sexton, Miura Kite, Dretzin, Dorin Razam, Zachary Herrmann, Jamila Ephron, Katas). Your husband is one. Why not?

I didn’t want to be. (Katas) was the executive producer, probably because he shot so much footage. He had no creative control and neither did I. We were in the middle of it all and wanted to trust the experts. We were by no means documentary experts. We had never done this before. I wanted to wash my hands clean so I could do anything.

Because I knew I was the character, I didn’t want my thoughts seeping into it, so that wouldn’t seem like some kind of motivation to me.

What has been the response to the documentary and its popularity in the FLDS community?

Well, that’s an amazing question. Because I understand that the FLDS is still an isolated, kind of reclusive community that generally doesn’t have access to the internet. I don’t want to embarrass the FLDS people, but they were watching this and rumors were spreading. Some FLDS have family members watching it or sending me screenshots of some of the comments, which has been incredibly positive because it’s like the first real documentary showing who the FLDS really are. It wasn’t all about his crimes and it wasn’t all about Warren Jeffs, and many commented that it helped people think outside the box and realize that FLDS people are different than they thought based on all the past media reports. I am very happy about it.

What was the reaction of non-fundamentalist Mormons, that is, the general Latter-day Saint community?

The mainline LDS church is very sensitive to being portrayed as polygamist. They stopped it over 100 years ago. Throughout their history, they have harbored hostility toward this group in Short Creek, Utah, and all polygamist groups, because they banned polygamy. But in recent years, maybe the last five years, I have seen the Church of Latter-day Saints provide humanitarian aid here. It was truly amazing.

We are very excited for the film to be well received globally as we are receiving positive feedback and stories from all over the world. Someone said: “This series has changed me and given me strength. And I’m already prepared. I’m going in tomorrow and filing a police report against my abuser.” Someone else said: “I see myself in this situation. I know I have to fight my way out now.” Because this series has such a real impact on individuals, I take screenshots of what people send me and send them to people who appear in the film or people who care about them. Because I want them to see that this actually makes a difference.

You still live in Short Creek. Are you planning on staying there after this is over?

huh.

why?

i like it. I love my friends. I have FLDS friends who are not FLDS. It’s a beautiful little town where everyone knows everyone. And I have work to do. I have built unique relationships with these stigmatized people, and I feel like they still need me on some level. I intervene and assist in evictions. When they don’t have internet access and need someone to find something for them, they call me. When a former FLDS member gives a gift or something to an FLDS grandmother, I can figure out how to exchange things. We call our home Switzerland. Because FLDS and former FLDS people come and have secret unification meetings. I don’t know who can replace me right now.

Are you planning on exposing other cult groups through the medium of unscripted programming, for lack of a better example? To catch predators?

Well, I don’t plan on catching any other predators. Actually, I’ve been involved in other things before, but no one knows. But my favorite thing to do is help people achieve their dreams. So I want to empower people if they’ve been through something like this. And Tolga likes it too. If you can find someone who can help you with your dream of becoming a musician, an actor, or finding a new home, we have a lot of connections. Can I find someone who can help me get a down payment? I really like it.

So no more documentaries or undercover work?

I don’t know about documentaries, but I don’t do undercover work anymore if I can help it. I would like to teach about law enforcement and child protective services. I want to take what I know and share it with people who don’t understand why people end up in these situations. If you don’t understand that, you’re going to end up charging someone with a crime when they’re the victim, and maybe there’s a better way. Let me give you an example. Nomz (Naomi Bistline) appears in the documentary as someone who committed a serious crime. She takes responsibility for what she did, but when you think about it, she risked her life to obey. She was a passenger in the car who was told what to do by Sam, and now she’s a convicted felon, but everyone knows what kind of victim she was. I want to find a way to forgive her and Moretta (Johnson). Because they were both too young and pushy. So that’s what’s on my mind right now.

As the series concludes, we’ll get some updates on what Nomz, now 27, is doing in prison. How is she today?

She is very touching. She has a great job to do remotely and is integrated into the world. She is still extremely naive. Because it takes time to learn how the world works. You see, she didn’t know who Elvis Presley was. My FLDS friends have never heard of Kim Kardashian. You have no idea how many people in the FLDS community I helped get their first emails. They didn’t even know how it worked or what the app buttons were. So little by little we keep hearing about Nomz’s lack of (cult) education. I mean, she’s a great writer and she’s good at math, but there are other cultural factors as well.

Do Bateman’s followers hate you?

People who still believe in Sam hate me, but just to be clear, his group is not the FLDS. They are a very small cult subset of the FLDS. So it’s completely different.

Is anyone still visible in public?

huh. Actually, I saw someone coming out of the store the other day. Two people who believe in Sam. I smiled and waved at them and gave them a dirty look. But you know what? I probably would have felt the same way if I were them. And I’m still here for them, and even if they hate me, I won’t hate them back. I know something is going on in their brains.

This is probably too stupid a way to ask a question about two very bad men. Keep it Sweet: Pray and Obey This marked the downfall of Warren Jeffs, and now his work Trust Me: False Prophet It directly toppled his self-proclaimed successor, Sam Bateman. Who had it worse?

Okay, this is so funny I guess I have to ask. Because this weekend someone from the FLDS came over and just watched the entire series with people from the FLDS. And what they said was that Sam was worse. Sam was worse. So while Warren Jeffs influenced a lot more people, their consensus on what he inflicted on those who followed him on an interpersonal level was that Sam Bateman was worse.

Is there a new Samuel Bateman yet? Or is he still running his cult from prison?

They are following him while he is in prison. It’s very disappointing that he’s even there talking to them.