After the lawsuit was filed, attorneys representing the U.S. government asked a judge to seal the case, according to entries that can still be found on a webpage maintained by DocketBird.com, a commercial site that collects and sells court records. It was February in Salt Lake, cold and gray, and in the foothills above the city, a low fog hung over the mountains. That cousin is also a defendant in the lawsuit. His most bizarre beliefs, though, concerned the occult. It passed a bill adding forced marriage into the states definition of sexual abuse. Members who have left in recent years say that changed after some of Paul Kingstons brothers were convicted of crimes related to child abuse, sex with a minor or incest. Jessica Kingston didnt want to be a polygamist. had some 80 children by 13 wives, but his favorite was Paul, an excellent student who made friends easily. Attorneys for the Nelsons and Michaels also did not return messages seeking comments. She received no sex education or premarital counseling. The issue is available now on newsstands and in the digital archive. He finished a three-year term as Chair of the Department of Sociology in August 2007. Paul J. Kingston Sr., 93, of North Huntingdon, died Saturday, Oct. 2, 2021. The boys also bought cigarettes wholesale through a small clan-owned market run by their older brother and sold them at school. Contact. Their divorce was finalized in July 2012 a little more than three years after they married. Alex's wife and son, Maggie and Paul, were shot to death at their home in 2021, and Alex is currently on trial for their murders.. If the Order doesnt have it, the clan teaches, we dont need it., Editors picks Thanks for your understanding. Snow said she was forced to fast, pray and read the Bible. [9], He is believed to have practiced polygamy in the past, potentially accruing as many as 40 wives and fathering up to 300 Children. No evidence directly linked him to the missing gold or silver, but his father was convinced he had played a part in the thefts. Photo Credit: Sullivan County Sheriff's Office. (Paul W. Kingston, (Ph.D. Columbia University, 1980) is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Virginia. They belonged to the Order and had toiled in the cult for years. He had arranged for a banner to be placed over a bridge there. I was scared to death when I left. From a clan ranch in Nevada, Stephen called his brother Ben, who had left the Order a few years before. There shouldnt really be a reason for an age limit, she said. A few days later, the groom-to-be picked up Jessica and took her to Murray Park. ", "United by fundamentalist Mormon beliefs, one polygamous group helps another by bringing truckloads of food", "Young Brides Stir New Outcry on Utah Polygamy", "Shurtleff: Child bride polygamous marriages appear to have stopped", "Polygamists are urged to make public statement", "No longer performing child-bride marriages? LDS Church wants to light up a temple in a place that prides itself on dark skies, For husband-and-wife team, this new restaurant is the culmination of a decadeslong dream, plural marriages that happen outside the law, two stars of the television show Escaping Polygamy,", Shanell DeRieux, a former Kingston Group member, stigmas that often come with being associated, Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society. From the outside it seemed like a typical suburban home, offering few clues of the secrets that were contained inside. The Knight brothers were driving new trucks, and so were their friends, says Levi Kingston. Each time turning up no significant violations or nothing at all. On this much, though, mother and daughter agree: Snows father was the primary driver. Rates of college attendance that meet or exceed the Utah average have been a point of pride in the Kingston Group, whose members have offered such statistics to counter the stereotype of children from polygamy, especially girls, being uneducated with no opportunity for self-improvement. Nevertheless, waves of audits of State taxes, Federal taxes, corporate taxes, DWS, SNAP, WIC and regulatory compliance in day cares among other things, have been levied against individuals and corporations with known or suspected ties to the DCCS. He then pinned her on a bed, the documents say, and wouldnt let her call for help. The memorial was held in Maxwell Park in Hildale, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. He had yet to lose his hair, and thanks to his fanatical devotion to healthy food and alternative medicine, he had the ropy build of a well-toned athlete. Brothers John Daniel Kingston, the father of the girl now in state custody, is said to have 20 wives; the mother of the "M.N." is half sister. Shanell DeRieux was married at 18 to a husband in the Kingston Group. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) Jurors in Alex Murdaugh's murder trial will get to see for themselves the rural hunting estate where his wife and son were killed, following in the footsteps of . While the Kingston Group, founded in 1935, is not affilated with the FLDS, members practice a fundamentalist version of Mormonism that involves polygamy. If that child comes to her at age 16 wanting to marry, she said, she will have questions. Consumed with guilt over his brothers death, Stephen lashed out. Complete statement from Davis County Cooperative Society: For decades, the DCCS has encouraged its members to be well-educated, well-informed, independent thinkers. Then, moving quickly, the boy at the door let himself in and got to work. If someone is mature enough, they should be able to do whatever they want.. One woman who was married in 2014 at age 16 said she did so for the same reason most people do: She fell in love. Suddenly, Stephens brother David lost control of the truck and it rolled over, killing David instantly. The family believed that discipline would rein in the boys and that hard labor would make the girls more supplicant to their husbands back in the city. In Utah, Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, plans a bill that would raise the minimum marriage age to 18. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally. Donate to the newsroom now. Five of the women suing alleged they were coerced into marriage as minors and raped by their husbands. He died on 6-4-1998 at the Beckley Veterans Administration. Noticing Stephen, he put the barbells down and came over to the boy. According to former members of the Order, decades of inbreeding have resulted in rampant birth defects throughout the family. She said the lawsuit is well plead and noted there have been previous successful qui tam cases in student aid programs. 1 choice. Another group of kids called the Lost Boys, who were kicked out of the polygamist cult the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, ended up on the streets of Las Vegas and Phoenix, some turning tricks for drugs like meth and heroin. It wasnt forced, said the woman, who asked not to be identified because of stigmas that often come with being associated with a polygamous sect. She then met with two women who helped her complete financial aid forms. One of them, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects. Now, two years later, Stephen still sleeps with a gun near his bed. They believe were Gods chosen people, Snow said of the Kingston Group followers, so you should start having kids as soon as possible.. Former sect members testified in favor of the measure, but its unclear whether the pressures faced by teens in the Kingston Group constitute forced marriage. If you messed with one of them, you were messing with them all., When Stephen was nine, an accident at Washakie set in motion a chain of events that would eventually prompt him to leave the cult. Within the clan, the pieces started to add up. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time Stephen hangs up and drives home in silence. She also is a star of "Escaping Polygamy." Everyone knows it., After the gold disappeared, the Knight brothers suddenly seemed to have a lot of money especially for young men on their own in the world for the first time. He seemed like the most amazing guy, Stephen recalls. Some children are born blind, others with missing fingernails or undersize heads. But the more the deputy pressed, the more their stories didnt add up. That wasnt the only reason Jessica liked him. Sometimes he parked his immaculately buffed burgundy Ford Thunderbird on the curb, but it was rare to see the man himself. He has held several high-level positions in government and education and worked as a consultant, so he likely has earned a significant income over the years. He no longer believed in the Order, but he knew that leaving would mean being shunned by his own family, and because he had been forbidden from making friends outside the clan, there would be few people in the world he could turn to. If they are money-laundering or making money in support of polygamy and incest, then they probably meet the statute.. Stephen moved in with his brother. When Rachel Young, a stern and humorless woman, got home, she discovered that several crates of silver in her basement had been pried open whoever had robbed the place had clearly been in a hurry and had left with only a small fraction of her silver. One of the Orders leaders did jail time for severely beating his own daughter after she fled an arranged marriage to his brother. What he told me was, Hansen said, Get her married so we dont have to take care of her anymore.. The Kingstons operate in a self-contained universe, completely cut off from the outside world. Log In Once logged in, you can add biography in the database. She was definitely the pick of the litter, and thats why Paul got her, Ron recalls. When Stephen was a boy, the clan would gather for the New Year in a warehouse in the city for its annual ritual: the numbering of the men. It felt like it was us against the world. His older brother Richard, a burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to fix cars. The Order stays as far away as possible from police, and this was like inviting them in your front door., With its vast wealth suddenly exposed to public view, the clan moved quickly to hush up the scandal. Survivors include his wife, Debra Meeks Kingston, his father, Paul James Kingston, III of McKeesport, PA, children, Brandon E. Kingston & wife Janna of Vidalia, CA, Kevin Ely of Tyler, Jessica Ely of Paris, Phillip Briley of Oklahoma City, OK and Justin Briley & wife Cynthia of Paris, thirteen grandchildren along with two sisters and one brother. During his tenure, Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. Many children begin working before 10 . They were finally getting even. Current members dispute those characterizations. She's since left the marriage and wants the legal marriage age raised to 18. If Paul Kingston or the designee signs off, the groom next goes to the girls father. If that father says yes, the groom talks to the girl. Jessica as well as Snow, DeRieux and Hansen all favor raising the legal marriage age in Utah and other states to 18. As he grew older, Stephen turned out to be as rebellious as his own father had been. Messages sent to Paul and David Kingston as well as representatives of the Latter Day Church of Christ, the Kingston Groups religious organization, and other named defendants in the lawsuit were not returned. Besides, the mother said, the girl needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition. The . Back then, Paul Kingston stood around five feet ten and weighed close to 200 pounds. When a girl doesnt want to be a polygamist, that information is shared among boys and men in the sect. So when her husband pushed for that daughter to marry, too, Hansen thought she was mature enough. That daughter was born with a form of heart disease and had long acted responsibly in caring for it, Hansen said. Boys are taught they will need to receive revelation from God on whom to marry. With the Orders leaders taking so many wives for themselves, the clans younger men were often unable to find anyone to marry. By 18, she was pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years. We were taught to be polite, but to never make friends with outsiders. The clan avoids hospitals, believing government-backed doctors might inject them with a mysterious disease or demand birth records exposing the Orders lifestyle. The lawsuit does not allege any wrongdoing by SLCC. On February 26th, 2009, the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office got a call of suspicious activity in the foothills above the city. Businesses and individuals have the autonomy to choose and operate as they see fit as evidenced by a huge diversity of industry and management styles among members. Jessica has begun working with Hope After Polygamy, a charity started by the cast of Escaping Polygamy and other former Kingston Group members to assist people leaving polygamous sects. View Site Their father rarely came by, and because the nearest town was 18 miles away, the kids forged a fierce bond among themselves. Birthdate: 1791. We strongly encourage all members to strictly adhere to every legal guideline when operating their businesses including day cares and when applying for all need-based assistance, including financial aid for students. This is an indication that an experienced qui tam firm looked at the facts, Markey said, and realized it was a case that was worth pursuing.. These days Stephen works on a cattle ranch near the Idaho border, just down the road from where he grew up. Duringa 2020 trialfor a California businessman accused of carrying out a nearly $500 million biodiesel fraud scheme with a member of the Kingston Group, attorneys for the businessman called the Kingstons an incestuous polygamous group that is always scheming to defraud the US government in what the group calls bleeding the beast., A spokesman for the group, Kent Johnson, called those allegations categorically false.. But we paid it all back.. The ones they dont think they have to worry about, they dont push them as hard.. The couples divorce became final in 2011. The plaintiffs argue a plan to defraud such well-known student aid benefits as Pell Grants and the Ford and Perkins loans began in 2004 or 2005. The jury in Alex Murdaugh's high-profile murder trial will visit the scene where his wife Maggie and son Paul were brutally murdered, before they decide the disgraced legal scion's fate.. Girls who reach their mid- and late teens can start to feel the pressure to wed. Jessica Kingston said when word gets out that a boy or young man has asked a girls father for permission to marry her, friends and family are walking up to that girl asking, Did you pray about him?. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time The father preferred another who had inquired about marrying Jessica. As he talked to the woman who lived there, Luke Brown came out of the house, and his brother Scott soon joined him. It would be several more years before Stephen learned that Paul Kingston was his father, and that his mother was just one of his dads many wives. All I like to do is work on cars and hang out with friends and ride my ponies, he wrote one night on his MySpace page. The Tribune, with assistance from former sect members who reviewed the records, also found 20 cases in which both the bride and groom were at least 18. It begins with the potential groom. He thinks about his mom, and wonders if she misses him. J.O. Paul Elden Kingston is an accountant and attorney who has served as the Trustee-in-Trust of the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), a Mormon fundamentalist denomination, [2] since 1987. It was Mothers Day in 2000, and Stephen and two of his brothers were speeding up a dirt road for dinner at an aunts house. It was just the best choice, some say, among their bad options. Father of Avisa Kingston; Susannah Mary Allison; Samuel Kingston and Paul Kingston. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jessica Kingston was wed at age 16 in what she says was a marriage she felt pressured into by her parents and others in a polygamous sect. Unlike other girls in the Order, Richaun was refined she didnt wear hand-me-downs, and at clan dances, a long line of boys waited to dance with her. He mandated that children should drink tea brewed from the herb every morning, and that Order members should feed it to their cows. A state court website says the judge must conclude that the marriage is voluntary and in the best interests of the minor.. Thats your Uncle Paul, she said. They teach the girls its their choice, Hansen said, but [say], Heres the selection.. Members are primarily born into the. The grift was exposed decades later, in the 1980s, when the clan paid a $350,000 settlement for swindling the government through welfare fraud. Only the inner circle knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a former Order member. It was a wild place, says Scott Cosgrove, a former detective with the Box Elder County Sheriffs Office, who remembers the ranch as a broken-down spread, guarded by a feral pack of boys who patrolled the fence line from the back of a pickup armed with shotguns. Depending on ones view, members of the Kingston Group either take care to follow marriage laws, or work to circumvent them. Then their father said something they never expected. The suit says sect members might have obtained tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars through false applications. Ive lived a good life. Sometimes, lying in bed at night, he thinks of his brother who died not far from here, and the rest of his siblings who remain in the Order. 03/01/2023 9:00 a.m. Police divers cut a path through the ice to reach the victims. Im done with this shit.. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. All the families belong to the Davis County Cooperative Society. All of their children who survived the Great Famine emigrated. Three of Kingston's 14 wives also are in the photo. He then severed her index finger, cleaned off the three bones, and carried them with him the rest of his life, believing that the totem kept her spirit with him. Those two unions happened in Colorado, where its legal to marry your cousin. The lone man suing said three Order men raped him when he was 16 or 17 and that when he left the group and announced he was gay, was tracked down and severely beaten by a group of boys acting at the direction of the Order, the lawsuit alleges. He is not ready to forgive his father. Its all political, Jessica said. Instead, she volunteered for extra shifts at the Kingston Group-run coal mine near Huntington, where she worked as a dispatcher. The pressure became so intense DeRieux stopped going to dances. Kingston clan into a multimillion-dollar business empire while allowing many of his purported 13 wives and dozens of children to survive on government assistance. The teenagers sitting in the driveway on South Bonner Circle that afternoon in 2009 knew the operation well. It was all just innocent teenage stuff, recalls Ron, who has since left the clan. Contained inside brothers were driving new trucks, and thats why Paul got her, Ron recalls brewed. 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