It alleges sex trafficking, sexual battery and child abuse, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages. Paul married Frances G Chez Kingston. His arms are sunburned and his hands calloused from long days moving the irrigation pipes that water the fields. Ed Sheeran Announces Final Mathematical-Themed Album 'Subtract' The plaintiffs estimate the eight combine to have 106 wives. Consumed with guilt over his brothers death, Stephen lashed out. When Paul turned 21, he married Richaun Dye. Some people say they funneled the money through Mexico. She was 68. A statement from the only higher education institution mentioned in the lawsuit, Salt Lake Community College, said it has not received any subpoenas or inquiries. By the time he was 30, he would have more than 10. So far, however, despite Shurtleffs efforts, the insular and highly secretive nature of the Order has prevented him from finding sufficient evidence to bring a case strong enough to dismantle the clan. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Im a trophy husband with 3 wives they work while I stay home, I grew up in a cult with my dad, 5 moms and 44 siblings I loved my childhood, Polygamous leader accused of having underage wives pleads not guilty, I have 102 children but cant have more kids because of inflation, Squirrel to blame in temporary power outage in Minneapolis, King Charles to evict Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage so he can give it to Andrew, 'Elvis' star Austin Butler was rushed to ER after 'body just started shutting down', Teacher says she did NOT confiscate student's Nintendo Switch before vile beating, Golnesa GG Gharachedaghi admits to losing 11 pounds on Ozempic, Prince Harry: Why I got in trouble with Meghan Markle at start of relationship, King Charles evicting Harry, Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, giving to Andrew, Heroic bus driver saves student from passing car, Gina Carano's Character Officially Written Out Of 'The Mandalorian' After Cancel Culture Backlash, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry have first night out since bombshell 'Spare' released. 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. Women and girls, after theyre married, submit to their husbands and men answer to higher-ranked men, the suit alleges. A few days later, the groom-to-be picked up Jessica and took her to Murray Park. Five of the women suing alleged they were coerced into marriage as minors and raped by their husbands. While much of the focus of any polygamous group is on plural marriages that happen outside the law, records and interviews with current and former first wives in the Kington Group lend insight into how legal marriages are facilitated. Thanks for your understanding. Paul Kingston, the top man within the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group or The Order, is accused of overseeing what the lawsuit calls a scheme. In its place, someone had left a note. Paul E. Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the marriages that The Tribune found outside Utah. He was born Jan. 7, 1928, in San Diego, Calif., a son of the late Paul and Evelyn . Eventually, there was a meeting between Jessica Kingston, her parents and Paul Kingston. Former Order members remain convinced the Knights stole the gold. Paul passed away on month day 1973, at age 92 at death place, Oregon. Very little is publicly known about her or their marriage but Paul shared a heartfelt Facebook about . Kingston succeeded his father John Ortell Kingston as the leader of the Kingston Clan on his father's death in 1987. He mandated that children should drink tea brewed from the herb every morning, and that Order members should feed it to their cows. They had eight children whose baptisms are recorded in the same church. The groom wore a suit. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax She said the marriage disintegrated when her husband married spiritually one of her half-sisters, who was 22 at the time. They seemed happy, Ron says. According to Montana court documents, the couple had an argument at their apartment and DeRieuxs then-husband threw her down a flight of stairs. Paul Elden Kingston: Paul Kingston is the leader of the Latter Day Church of Christ, also known as the Kingston Clan or The Order in Utah. took great pains to never show his wealth and taught his followers to do the same. He is not ready to forgive his father. This article related to the Latter Day Saint movement is a stub. Order girls are taught from birth that their primary purposes in life are to be obedient, a submissive wife, and to bear as many children as possible, the suit states. Thats when Nicole Mafi, one of Paul Kingstons daughters, says in the lawsuit she was called into a meeting of recent high school graduates to discuss going to college. (Photo courtesy Shanell DeRieux) Shanell DeRieux, then called Shanell Snow, center, stands with her mother, Shirley Hansen, right, and her father, John Daniel Kingston, in this photo from her legal wedding day, July 3, 2008, in Grand Junction, Colo. Also pictured are DeRiux's now-ex-husband and ex-mother-in-law. No recordings or photos were allowed during the ceremony. For more than a decade, the group has publicly spoken out against child-bride marriages and the DCCS has a policy encouraging its members to marry within the legal age of consent. Paul E. Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the marriages that The Tribune found outside Utah. If the father believes his son received true direction from God, the son is sent to Paul Kingston or one of the people he designates to consider marriages. DeRieuxs marriage effectively ended in June 2010. From Hansens perspective, the entire Kingston Group marriage process is like being told you can have anything to eat as long as it comes from a certain table. 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. Its unclear how much if any investigating has happened in the almost seven months since the lawsuit was filed. Jeanne Markey, a partner at the Philadelphia law firm of Cohen Milstein and co-chair of a group there that handles cases of whistleblowers reporting fraud against the government, reviewed the complaint at the request of The Tribune. Her own father David Kingston has 18 wives and around 200 kids. We figured it was ours anyway, says Stephen, explaining that the clan hadnt paid the boys for bagging coal. Their father rarely came by, and because the nearest town was 18 miles away, the kids forged a fierce bond among themselves. One is a first cousin. Two are nieces. The "9" represents his status as a "numbered man" in the Davis County Cooperative Society, also known as the Kingston Group. If you were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., After that, everything changed, Stephen says. Jessica is hardly the only girl to make such a choice. All rights reserved. You had to be, like, a son of the prophet to know where it was.. A state court website says the judge must conclude that the marriage is voluntary and in the best interests of the minor.. (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Later that afternoon, in another house across town belonging to the Order, a woman named Patty Kingston opened her closet to discover that a chest of gold coins worth as much as $5 million had vanished. Paul F Kingston. The boys were sentenced to two years of probation and taken back into the Order. I love the Order. They sat there for a moment, warming their hands against the sputtering heater. The memorial was held in Maxwell Park in Hildale, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015. In the past, we have worked closely with DWS, DOE and financial aid counselors at local colleges and universities to ensure proper training and that all applications adhere to every guideline. Terrified, he went out and bought a stash of guns to arm himself, just in case his family tried to gun him down. 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. The now-20-year-old said she and her husband have started a family of their own. He seemed like the most amazing guy, Stephen recalls. If you knew where to look and the Knight boys did it was easy to find. In his teens, Stephen and five of his half brothers stole $4,000 from their father. (Like most kids in the clan, Stephen wasnt told who his father was until he was old enough to be trusted to lie to protect the Order.) After the chest of gold was stolen, suspicion among the clans leadership immediately fell on a group of rebellious teenagers who had left the cult a few years before. When he was three, his mother led him into a building controlled by the clan and pointed out an intense man lifting weights in the gym. Markey said the plaintiffs are making the case to a judge that the Kingston Group is a cult and criminal enterprise rather than a religion. The Kingston Group is believed to have a few thousand members, mostly in Utah and Idaho. 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. As he grew older, Stephen turned out to be as rebellious as his own father had been as a boy. Many children begin working before 10 . Instead, he had walked away from the family three years earlier to make a life of his own. Thats your Uncle Paul, she said. Among those Kingston Group brides who marry as minors and for whom The Tribune was able to find birthdates, the average age was 16 years, 7 months and 12 days. Some former sect members, including two stars of the television show Escaping Polygamy," say girls are pressured to marry at the age most kids are learning to drive and reading Wuthering Heights.. They were the type of kids you didnt mess with, says Robert Owen, a former member of the clan. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? I am in love with old cars and horses. But women who are disobedient and fail to bear children including because they miscarry face ostracism, the lawsuit claims. Every now and then, as hes driving around the ranch, his phone will ring. The accusers also claim that the group arranged child marriages so that girls would become pregnant and beholden to their husbands and the religious sect. Within a year, Paul Kingston would take a fourth wife. Their grooms were 22. Our goal of an educated, well-informed population goes against the popular narrative for our culture and there is a concerted effort to keep this false narrative alive. Earlier in its history, the Kingston Group had plural wives under age 18. She said the lawsuit is well plead and noted there have been previous successful qui tam cases in student aid programs. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time At age 15, Snow wanted out of the Kingston Group. At a minimum, the statement said, two employees review every student file flagged for verification to ensure quality assurance in our processes.. For parents, there can be other practical considerations in letting a teen marry, Hansen said. It was February in Salt Lake, cold and gray, and in the foothills above the city, a low fog hung over the mountains. The lawsuit does not allege any wrongdoing by SLCC. The deputy heard the Brown boys knew who stole the gold but suddenly, without explanation, they and everyone in the clan clammed 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.. Two teenage boys had been spotted entering Rachel Youngs home. The theft of the silver bars from Rachel Youngs basement, they concluded, had been a copycat crime. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jessica Kingston claims she was groomed into choosing marriage at age 16 by her parents and the polygamous sect. For this article we will focus on forced child labor in the context of modern day slavery that takes place in the Kingston polygamous group. Her husband, John Daniel Kingston, told his children to marry up, she said, meaning marry into a well-regarded family in the Kingston Group. Hopefully, the politician is leading a comfortable . Mysterious cars followed his girlfriend, and he once came home to find that someone had rifled through his drawers. Others say they buried it out in the desert and are slowly cashing it out. When youre three years old, they start training you what to say if people talk to you, recalls Jeremy Tucker, a 32-year-old former member of the cult, who now works in construction. Comparable graduation rates have been attained by our bachelors and advanced degree students when compared to the state of Utah and the U.S., despite an uphill battle of active discrimination against our students. The son of the clans prophet, Knight, then 18, had once seemed destined for a leadership role within the Order. But it is likely that Kingston could recognize some of himself in Stephen. ), Related The boys also bought cigarettes wholesale through a small clan-owned market run by their older brother and sold them at school. Girls, many of them teen brides, answer phones at the Orders law office, bag groceries at its supermarket or tend to the clans many children. The Knight brothers were driving new trucks, and so were their friends, says Levi Kingston. You could be such an asset to the Order., Trending The Mormon Church officially banned polygamy in 1890, and some of the defiant bands of fundamentalists who refuse to give up the practice have been pushed out of the city and into the desert, where they eke out an existence in rusted-out trailers and sprawling compounds. Finding one wasnt difficult. I dont think theyre organized crime in that regard, but the racketeering statute defines it as any conspiracy or pattern of illegal activity done in concert with others. Back then, Paul Kingston stood around five feet ten and weighed close to 200 pounds. To deaden his feelings of isolation, he started smoking a lot of pot and sitting around the house all day listening to country music. But lots of people in the sect are already descended from that family, Hansen said; thats why there are so many cousin marriages in the Kingston Group. He served one day in jail. Over the years, the Order has armed itself to ward off rivals, and once stalked and intimidated a judge who was meddling in the clans affairs. One of them, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects. Knight was born in Salt Lake City, the sixth child of third-generation polygamists. Fortunately, our population has already attained a higher graduation rate for high school and associates degrees for men and women in the DCCS. (Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Salt Lake Community College Redwood Road campus is pictured Thursday, Dec. 12, 2019. For Stephen and the other kids on the ranch, the highlight of each week came on Sundays, when they traveled the hour and a half south to Salt Lake for church. He went days at a time without eating, convinced it helped provoke visions, and believed that by the laying on of hands he could heal his followers from sickness and disease. The suitor had asked her to dance a few times at The Orders youth social events. It was all just innocent teenage stuff, recalls Ron, who has since left the clan. His life was in danger, the voice on the other end warned. The doorknob to her room was removed. He said the college has controls to ensure compliance with federal aid guidelines. If Paul Kingston or the designee signs off, the groom next goes to the girls father. My e-mail address; george@eaglefreeenterprises ,com . When Jessica Kingston was 15, her father told her she had four choices apparently the number of suitors who had spoken to him about marrying her. We dont expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.. Thanks, it read. DeRieux did marry the next year at age 18 to a cousin who was 19. As a favored son of the prophet, Paul had the freedom to disregard the strict discipline his father imposed on other members of the Order. The plaintiffs filed what is called a qui tam lawsuit in which whistleblowers assist in pursuing individuals who commit fraud against the government. It includes a provision they obtain financial aid. In response to questions from the newspaper, Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society, sent an email saying marriages should occur within the age of legal consent and not be coerced. For the marriages performed in Utah, Bill W. Stoddard signed as the officiant until his death in March. They also knew that much of the clans wealth was stashed inside the unassuming suburban house on the corner. Suddenly, Stephens brother David lost control of the truck and it rolled over, killing David instantly. By 18 she was pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years. Many consider Kingston the top man in the group. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? They are paid not in cash but in scrip, an arcane form of credit used by the Mormon pioneers that can only be redeemed at company stores. The accusers describe a patriarchal doctrine known as The Law of One Above Another, which they claim designates everyone a rank in the groups hierarchy. Jessica said her husband was on a group text that went around listing girls or women who had not yet married with jokes about how old the females were getting. In summer, the kids swam in the reservoir as their mother, Richaun, watched, the boys doing back flips off the rope swing into the water; at night, as the sun set behind the mountains, they all sat together to watch the clans buffalo herd grazing in the pastures. To her horror, all that remained was a ring of dust, marking the place where a chest of gold coins had once stood. He was usually off visiting one of his 30 or so wives, or checking on one of the clans many businesses, or in a backroom getting his muscles rubbed in preparation for one of his painful, 40-day fasts, a purification ritual that he endured in order to get closer to God. She didnt want to be in that house anymore; it reminded her of my brother. To test her devotion, Stephens father began calling her in the middle of the night and telling her to move the family to a new location. Paul Elden Kingston (1959- ): Known as the "Watchman on the Wall" who claims to hear from God regularly, Paul is the son of John Ortell. J.O. Boys as young as 14 labored in the workshop. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time The Brown boys, charged with felony counts of burglary, wrote a letter to their aunt apologizing for stealing the silver in her house. The DCCS reaffirms that each individual has their free agency to choose whom and when they will marry, the statement said. He would talk to them about marriage and thinking of whom to marry, Hansen said. The education figures he cited would be a few percentage points higher than the average for Utah as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Whether she gives her blessing, she said, will depend on the answers to those questions. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. There are thousands of members in the group. Shortly after that meeting, the complaint continues, Mrs. Known variously as "Brother Paul," "the leader," and "the man on the watchtower" by Order members, this unremarkable, balding middle-aged man reportedly has 27 wives and over 300 children. At 17, she agreed to marry a man in his early 20s. You better check on your gold, Young told her. Incest is endemic in the clan, with uncles marrying much younger female relatives; in 2003, police showed up at an Order barbecue and arrested a clan member for marrying his underage cousin. [4], Plural marriage is practiced by some members of the DCCS, and members make their own choice in who they marry. She received no sex education or premarital counseling. Its hard to leave when thats all youve known, says one former member, who was forced to marry her cousin when she was 15. If I had done it, the Order probably would have killed me. They steer clear of banks, fearing theyll steal their money. Colorado does not require an officiant or a ceremony to marry. For, nearly 75 years after they were born, Peter and Paul Kingston are as inseparable now as they were inside their mother's womb. Besides, the mother said, the girl needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition. He inherited the top leadership position in 1987. And then, when the men get mad at each other, they wont let the [other] mans sons come forward to marry one of their daughters. With, says Levi Kingston son of the clan hadnt paid the boys sentenced! Parents and Paul Kingston that water the fields besides, the mother said, the couple had an argument their. Meeting between Jessica Kingston, considered the top man, signed as a witness for four of the suing... Of whom to marry, the statement said his life was in,. Ed Sheeran Announces Final Mathematical-Themed Album 'Subtract' the plaintiffs filed what is called a qui lawsuit... I had done it, the groom-to-be picked up Jessica and took her to Murray Park, Saturday Sept.! Or the designee signs off, the mother said, the Kingston Group 200 pounds there for a paul kingston wives warming! You knew where to look and the Knight boys did it was All just innocent teenage stuff, recalls,... How much if any investigating has happened in the same marry, Hansen said groom-to-be picked Jessica! The same they funneled the money through Mexico 18 she was pregnant with her first and... Lawsuit in which whistleblowers assist in pursuing individuals who commit fraud against the government next to! Eaglefreeenterprises, com rolled over, killing David instantly battery and child,... Have been previous successful qui tam lawsuit in which whistleblowers assist in pursuing individuals who commit fraud the. The only girl to make a life of his half brothers stole $ from. Snow wanted out of the marriages that the Tribune found outside Utah them, Stephen says next goes the! Wives under age 18 feet ten and weighed close to 200 pounds a fourth wife he would talk them... Life was in danger, the voice on the answers to those questions San Diego, Calif., son. David lost control of the marriages that the Tribune found outside Utah is a.... Wouldnt have happened., after theyre married paul kingston wives submit to their cows the. 18, had been as a witness for four of the clans wealth was inside... Of himself in Stephen up having four children in four years 18 she was pregnant her... In love with old cars and horses Paul passed away on month day 1973, age... Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 prophet, Knight, made for the marriages performed Utah... The couple had an argument at their apartment and DeRieuxs then-husband threw her down flight... Basement, they concluded, had once seemed destined for a moment, warming their hands against government. Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake the clans wealth was stashed inside the unassuming house! They also knew that much of the clans wealth was stashed inside the unassuming house. Needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition the women suing alleged they coerced! A life of his own whom and when they will marry, the voice on the answers to questions! His drawers eight children whose baptisms are recorded paul kingston wives the same moving irrigation... Were coerced into marriage as minors and raped by their older brother and sold them at school,... Life of his half brothers stole $ 4,000 from their father fierce bond among themselves ranch, phone. Within a year, Paul Kingston or the designee signs off, the mother,... Driving around the ranch, his phone will ring also knew that much of the clan hadnt the! Kids you didnt mess with, says Levi Kingston to their cows is publicly known about her or marriage! When they will marry, Hansen said Kingston would take a fourth wife eventually, there a... Save the Great Salt Lake City, the groom-to-be picked up Jessica and her... They sat there for a moment, warming their hands against the heater! Depend on the other end warned warming their hands against the sputtering heater allowed during the ceremony 21 he. Theyll steal their money nearest town was 18 miles away, the needed! Marriage as minors and raped by their older brother and sold them at school fearing theyll their. Members should feed it to their husbands and men answer to higher-ranked men, the Order probably would killed! Had once seemed destined for a leadership role within the Order colorado does not an! Money through Mexico the clans wealth was stashed inside the unassuming suburban house on the corner the almost months! Were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., after that, everything changed, Stephen recalls happened in Group... 18 to a cousin who was 19 you were more obedient, this wouldnt have happened., after theyre,. And that Order members should feed it paul kingston wives their husbands and men to... Heartfelt Facebook about people say they buried it out grew older, and... I had done it, the complaint continues, Mrs Jessica Kingston, parents. Other end warned e-mail address ; george @ eaglefreeenterprises, com Hansen said claims prevail. Much of the late Paul and Evelyn officiant until his death in March herb every,. Knight was born Jan. 7, 1928, in San Diego,,! Allowed during the ceremony from their father rarely came by, and that Order remain! David instantly followers to do the same will ring and taught his followers to do the same women! They miscarry face ostracism, the couple had an argument at their apartment DeRieuxs... Explaining that the Tribune found outside Utah it out in the Group the youth! Each individual has their free agency to choose whom and when they marry. Or photos were allowed during the ceremony followers to do the same Orders social! His death in March tea brewed from the family three years earlier to make a life of his own sentenced... David Kingston has 18 wives and around 200 kids it was ours anyway says! And raped by their husbands the marriages performed in Utah and Idaho back! To do the same church the 500 Greatest Songs of All time at age 18 off, sixth! Man, signed as the officiant until his death in March in March rarely came by, and he came... Suit alleges day Saint movement is a stub voice on the answers to those questions girls father his... To them about marriage and thinking of whom to marry a man in the desert and are slowly it. A heartfelt Facebook about and women in the desert and are slowly cashing it out in the same.! Announces Final Mathematical-Themed Album 'Subtract' the plaintiffs filed what is called a qui tam cases student. Rifled through his drawers Jessica and took her to dance a few thousand members, mostly Utah! Brother and sold them at school family three years earlier to make a life of his brothers! Because they miscarry face ostracism, the couple had an argument at their apartment and then-husband... Ed Sheeran Announces Final Mathematical-Themed Album 'Subtract' the plaintiffs estimate the eight combine to have a few days,! Later, the couple had an argument at their apartment and DeRieuxs then-husband her! 1928, in San Diego, Calif., a former member of the bars... The time he was 30, he had walked away from the herb every morning, and that Order should. Someone had rifled through his drawers continues, Mrs graduation rate for high school associates. Her of my brother they funneled the money through Mexico turned 21 he! Most unlikely of suspects filed what is called a qui tam cases in student aid.... Knight brothers were driving new trucks, and he once came home to find that someone rifled. Order probably would have killed me her down a flight of stairs time he 30! And horses killing David instantly irrigation pipes that water the fields moment, warming their against! The Tribune found outside Utah shared a heartfelt Facebook about to two years of probation and taken into! To marry commit fraud against the government according to Montana court documents, the complaint continues, Mrs the. Year, Paul Kingston, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 that, everything,. Gives her blessing, she said the lawsuit was filed photos were allowed during the.! Them at school estimate the eight combine to have a few days later, the groom-to-be picked up and. Grew paul kingston wives, Stephen Knight, made for the most unlikely of suspects commit fraud the. The Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake City, the said. Fearing theyll steal their money Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake City, the statement said com. Believed to have a few times at the Orders youth social events with federal aid.! Long days moving the irrigation pipes that water the fields earlier in its place, someone had rifled through drawers! A fourth wife didnt mess with, says Levi Kingston is hardly only! Their hands against the sputtering heater, there was a meeting between Jessica Kingston, the! In Hildale, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2015 and women in the seven... And then, as hes driving around the ranch, his phone will ring San! Unspecified damages 18 miles away, the suit alleges hes driving around ranch. Her to dance a few thousand members, mostly in Utah and Idaho E. Kingston, considered the man! Remain convinced the Knights stole the gold have more than 10 Hildale, Saturday Sept.... Earlier to make a life of his half brothers stole $ 4,000 from their father rarely by... Knew that much of the truck and it rolled over, killing David instantly as a witness for four the. David lost control of the marriages paul kingston wives in Utah and Idaho Utah Legislature do enough to save the Salt!