KINGMAN - A Colorado City polygamist convicted of sex offenses linked to his marriage to an underage girl has been sentenced to nine months in prison.
Forty-nine-year-old David Bateman was convicted October 25th of sexual conduct with a minor and conspiracy.
Prosecutors say Bateman fathered a child with the 17-year-old girl, who he had taken as a polygamous wife.
But the alleged victim, now 22, told the judge before Bateman was sentenced yesterday that she was not a victim. Midge Steed described Bateman as a ''loving husband.''
But Mohave County Attorney Matt Smith said Arizona law rather than young women determine that constitutes a victim.
Bateman is a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which is a polygamous sect based on the Arizona-Utah border.
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