DeRieux says the other two girls were her half-sisters, both age 16. 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. Her husband, John Daniel Kingston, told his children to marry up, she said, meaning marry into a well-regarded family in the Kingston Group. Sometimes his father read the Book of Mormon from the pulpit and talked about things regular Christians would recognize, like tithing or repentance. 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. Snow contends her mother was one of the people who told her she needed to think about whom she was going to wed. Photo by Nate Carlisle, The Salt Lake Tribune | Shirley Hansen, seen here July 21, 2018, stands along 2100 South near State Street in Salt Lake City. They threw away their possessions, donned matching blue overalls, and pitched canvas tents on a patch of land north of Salt Lake that would come to be known as the Home Place.. So it means being a first [wife]. The ones they dont think they have to worry about, they dont push them as hard.. Five of the women suing alleged they were coerced into marriage as minors and raped by their husbands. Colorado does not require an officiant or a ceremony to marry. On weekends, he was sent out to work at the Orders coal mine with other teenagers. She favors raising the legal marriage age to 18. Regardless, all those applying should do so legally.. By 18 she was pregnant with her first child and ended up having four children in four years. Theyre trying to paint a picture, Markey said, give the judge and, frankly, the defendants, when they see the complaint, give them the context, which is to the effect, We know what's up. Some former teenage Kingston Group brides acknowledge they werent forced to marry; they made a choice. According to All Famous Birthdays, Paul Vallas has a staggering net worth of $5 million. DeRieuxs marriage effectively ended in June 2010. Family photo: Kollene's father, John Daniel Kingston has 14 wives, and she is the fifth of her mother Shirley Hansen's 12 children +9 View gallery Controlling: They got married in March 2009,. According to Montana court documents, the couple had an argument at their apartment and DeRieuxs then-husband threw her down a flight of stairs. They would trek into state welfare offices, their kids in tow, claiming that they had no idea who the father of their children was, or that he was a truck driver who had left them destitute. Jessica is hardly the only girl to make such a choice. I knew I wasn't supposed to marry him, she said, but I almost did to get everyone to shut up and leave me alone about marriage.. Their legal team includes a Boston law firm with expertise in qui tam lawsuits. In qui tam cases, the federal government can either join the plaintiffs in recouping losses and pursuing damages and fines, or let the plaintiffs prosecute the lawsuit on their own. The clan, known privately as the Order, runs what prosecutors believe is one of the largest organized-crime operations in Utah, overseeing its far-flung empire from a string of secret locations and backrooms. (Jessicas dad and the young man had taken courses together at the University of Utah.) One of the Orders leaders did jail time for severely beating his own daughter after she fled an arranged marriage to his brother. Wed sleep on the chicken coop in the summer and shoot raccoons. 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. After the boys were taken into custody, one of their first calls was to Stephen. But Jessica knew the longer she waited to wed, the more likely she would have to become a polygamist and the more likely her husband would be far older than she was. 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. 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. It felt like it was us against the world. His older brother Richard, a burly diesel mechanic, taught him how to fix cars. Members who have left in recent years say that changed after some of Paul Kingston's brothers were convicted of. Kent Johnson, a spokesman for the Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS), which also is named as a defendant, said members are strongly encouraged to strictly adhere to every legal guideline when applying for financial aid. The now-20-year-old said she and her husband have started a family of their own. Then one of them exhaled slowly, his breath shuddering in the cold air. Trump Melts Down Over Murdoch Admitting Fox Lied About Election Fraud It begins with the potential groom. was just as frugal as his brother he lived in a dilapidated shack with planks missing from the porch but he had a better head for business. "A review of wedding certificates shows how the teen marriages are sanctioned at the highest levels of the Kingston Group. During his tenure Kingston has followed his father's practice of plural, child, and intra-family marriage. 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. 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. She and her husband had four children with whom they share custody. They had 4 children: John Hozlette Kingston and 3 other children. 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. 1:03. Their divorce was finalized in July 2012 a little more than three years after they married. had some 80 children by 13 wives, but his favorite was Paul, an excellent student who made friends easily. When a girl doesnt want to be a polygamist, that information is shared among boys and men in the sect. Colbert Reimagines Disney Park as 'De-Wokeified' DeSantis World, Sex, Drugs, and the Biggest Cybercrime of All Time, I could boil down what theyre about in three words, says a member who broke with the Order. The pressure became so intense DeRieux stopped going to dances. Polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream church, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. It wasnt like we thought about it a lot. The DCCS is a financial cooperative established by his uncle Elden Kingston in 1935. On the surface, the operation is legit: From Salt Lake, the Order controls some 100 businesses spread out over the Western states, from a casino in California to a cattle ranch in Nevada to a factory that makes lifelike dolls in Utah. The other seven are brothers or sons of Paul Kingston. [9], He is believed to have practiced polygamy in the past, potentially accruing as many as 40 wives and fathering up to 300 Children. 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. If you ever do that again, he said, Ill blow your head off., It was an astonishing moment in the history of the clan. If that child comes to her at age 16 wanting to marry, she said, she will have questions. Kingston had told gaming regulators in California. Yet its teen marriages in the Kingston Group that spurred the Utah Legislature to act this year. For that, she would have to be legally married to him. Dating or romance among young people before marriage is forbidden in the Kingston Group, but the sect does hold dances. 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. J.O. Besides, the mother said, the girl needed her husbands health insurance to treat her condition. At clan gatherings, girls who were still in their teens danced with men old enough to be their uncles, whom they were sometimes forced to marry. Snow said her marriage fell apart over her not liking the Kingston Group and her husband wanting to have another wife. He seemed like the most amazing guy, Stephen recalls. Death: January 25, 1867 (75-76) Immediate Family: Husband of Lydia Kingston. DeRieux was photographed in Layton, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. Their grooms were 22. Those two unions happened in Colorado, where its legal to marry your cousin. Another brother, Ben, showed him how to mend fences. Then, moving quickly, the boy at the door let himself in and got to work. She said the marriage disintegrated when her husband married spiritually one of her half-sisters, who was 22 at the time. It was all fun, Stephen recalls. She says marriages can be used in The Order to gain or maintain favor among the parents of the brides and grooms. Theyll do what they need to do to defend whats theirs.. If God gives him direction on whom to marry, he goes to his dad. Youre just supposed to get married as young as you can, said the now-26-year-old. His life was in danger, the voice on the other end warned. [10][11]. I felt for his pulse, but he was already gone., That night, Paul Kingston arrived at the ranch. 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. I think it scared them.. The suit was filed against the groups leader Paul Eldon Kingston and 21 other members. . Viewers Can Watch Prince Harry Talk to a Trauma Expert for $33.09 For now, Utah law says a 15-year-old may marry with the consent of a parent or guardian and the permission of a juvenile court judge. You had to be, like, a son of the prophet to know where it was.. It passed a bill adding forced marriage into the states definition of sexual abuse. His face was crushed, Stephen says now, matter-of-factly, his eyes going blank for a moment. Every now and then, as hes driving around the ranch, his phone will ring. She was instructed, the complaint adds, to deposit the excess funds at a South Salt Lake office building, where the sects bank is located. Did the Utah Legislature do enough to save the Great Salt Lake? Then their father said something they never expected. My mom was never the same. Paul was upset any of this had been reported at all, says a former member close to the boys. Many consider Kingston the top man in the group. No evidence directly linked him to the missing gold or silver, but his father was convinced he had played a part in the thefts. All the families belong to the Davis County Cooperative Society. Shortly after that meeting, the complaint continues, Mrs. Eventually, Stephen was sent back to Washakie and was placed under the supervision of his uncle, one of the familys most feared enforcers. Prior to 2017, Kingston was Professor of Sociology, and by courtesy, Professor in the Curry School of Education. One afternoon, as Stephen and his cousin were taking a break from fixing a tractor that had broken down in a hayfield, Daniel Kingston pulled up. Home. Marriage preparation can accelerate at puberty. That usually means marrying a Kingston descendant. Mafis mother is Paul Kingstons fifth wife, yet when filling out the aid forms, the woman advising her told Mafi not to submit anything about her father, according to the lawsuit. On this much, though, mother and daughter agree: Snows father was the primary driver. 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. For the marriages performed in Utah, Bill W. Stoddard signed as the officiant until his death in March. (Photo courtesy of Kollene Snow) Kollene Snow, 16, poses in her dress before her 2009 marriage in West Valley City. As he talked to the woman who lived there, Luke Brown came out of the house, and his brother Scott soon joined him. Older teenagers were crammed five and six to a room, sleeping on the floors of trailers. Snow says she chose to get married to escape an abusive living situation. (Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) The suitor had asked her to dance a few times at The Orders youth social events. They believe were Gods chosen people, Snow said of the Kingston Group followers, so you should start having kids as soon as possible.. Back then, Paul Kingston stood around five feet ten and weighed close to 200 pounds. It was all just innocent teenage stuff, recalls Ron, who has since left the clan. 1 choice [of whom to marry] in The Order, Jessica Kingston said. In a search of public records created since the start of 1997, The Salt Lake Tribune found 65 marriages among members of the Kingston Group in which the bride was 15, 16 or 17. The relations are distant enough they wouldnt encounter any of Utahs prohibitions on marriage between siblings, first cousins or aunts/nephews and uncles/nieces. 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. The DCCS reaffirms that each individual has their free agency to choose whom and when they will marry, the statement said. Donate to the newsroom now. The clan kids from there would come to school not properly dressed for the cold, and they were always getting in fights. The other seven are brothers or sons of Paul Kingston. Stoddard was the president of the Latter Day Church of Christ, the Kingston Groups incorporated religious organization. Only the inner circle knew the hoard even existed, says Christian Kingston, a former Order member. Still stunned at the sudden loss of their brother, Stephen and his siblings were numb with grief. Over the last four years, these audits have occurred for DCCS members at a rate 9.5 times higher than the average population. She does not favor a change in the marriage age. While some despised Ben for his apostasy and refused to speak with him, Stephen had remained in touch with his brother. Boys work its coal mine and stack boxes at Standard Restaurant Supply, a massive discount store. DeRieux remarried at age 21 to a man who isnt from the Kingston Group. 12 Paul J. WILFONG was born on 4-13-1912 in Marlinton. Those cousins and two others have since pleaded guilty to crimes that include fraud, conspiracy, money laundering and witness tampering in a plot to pocket federal energy tax credits. If I had done it, the Order probably would have killed me. According to former members of the Order, decades of inbreeding have resulted in rampant birth defects throughout the family. It was also around then that Stephen, at the age of 14, began to see the clan for what it really was. A week later, the two were profiled on the CBS program Whistleblower for their work in exposing fraud at Washakie Renewable Energy, the biofuel company operated by two of Mary Nelsons first cousins. Such lawsuits typically are sealed to give the government time to investigate the allegations. 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. A Tale of Two Chads: More Drama From Nineties Band Live. He had arranged for a banner to be placed over a bridge there. 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