Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 122
The founder and leader of the organization, Rabbi Philip Berg, born Feivel Gruberger, in
Brooklyn, is a former insurance salesman who left his wife and children to become a
spiritual leader. (Daily Mail, Internet, 5/1/04)
Kaufman Treatment Center/Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center
Facility Heads Charged with Involuntary Servitude
Arlan and Linda Kaufman have been arrested and accused of physically abusing and
virtually enslaving patients at the Kaufman Treatment Center, a mental health facility
they run on their Newton, KS, farm. The Kaufmanns allegedly forced mentally ill adults to
do farm work in the nude, used a stun gun to shock a resident on his stomach, testicles,
and feet in front of other residents, and punished some by taking their clothes away.
Authorities say the couple had failed to provide any treatment to residents for 15 years. The
Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board suspended Arlan Kaufman‘s license to practice
following allegations of sexual exploitation in 1991. This May, the Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services suspended the Kaufmans‘ guardianship over a mentally disabled
woman in her 50s who said she had been sexually abused for years. (AP in New York Times,
Internet, 10/28/04)
Kingston Clan/The Order
Polygamist Loses Custody
A Salt Lake City judge has approved a petition on behalf of the 13-year-old daughter of
John Daniel Kingston, head of the polygamous Kingston Clan, to be placed in the
permanent custody of the child‘s maternal uncle and his wife. A court earlier determined
that Kingston had abused his daughter and that her mother had neglected her by not
stopping the abuse. (AP, Internet, 7/26/04)
Defamation Suit Against Victim Dismissed
A suit for defamation brought by members of the polygamous Kingston Clan [The Order]
against a woman who says the group fosters sexual abuse of young girls through illegal
marriages, incest, and polygamy, has been dismissed by Utah‘s Second District Court.
Twenty-two-year-old Mary Ann Kingston, whose Third District Court suit names 242
members and 97 clan businesses as defendants, was beaten by her father when she ran
from a polygamous marriage to her uncle at the age of 16. The judge ruled that statements
made by Kingston and her lawyers at a news conference did not defame the plaintiffs. He
said the remarks were so general and regarding a group so large that no individual member
of the group of defendants could claim any harm. (AP, Internet, 8/20/04)
Latter-day Church of God/The Order
Alleged Child Abuse in Polygamous Clan Detailed
John Daniel Kingston, and Heidi Foster, one of his wives, are in court defending
themselves against charges of abuse brought by two of his daughters, 13 and 15, who say
their parents systematically beat and psychologically abused them. The Kingstons are
members of Utah‘s Latter Day Church of God, or The Order, some 1,200 adherents
who believe in and practice polygamy.
The children, now in state custody after running away from home, spoke on tape about
the abuse. Kingston — who operates a $150 million business ―empire‖ with operations in
six states, and who has 106 children by 14 wives living in a number of separate
households — denies the charges and believes the proceeding is ―a fishing expedition‖ for
information about the increasingly condemned practice of polygamy. He maintains his
The founder and leader of the organization, Rabbi Philip Berg, born Feivel Gruberger, in
Brooklyn, is a former insurance salesman who left his wife and children to become a
spiritual leader. (Daily Mail, Internet, 5/1/04)
Kaufman Treatment Center/Kaufman House Residential Treatment Center
Facility Heads Charged with Involuntary Servitude
Arlan and Linda Kaufman have been arrested and accused of physically abusing and
virtually enslaving patients at the Kaufman Treatment Center, a mental health facility
they run on their Newton, KS, farm. The Kaufmanns allegedly forced mentally ill adults to
do farm work in the nude, used a stun gun to shock a resident on his stomach, testicles,
and feet in front of other residents, and punished some by taking their clothes away.
Authorities say the couple had failed to provide any treatment to residents for 15 years. The
Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board suspended Arlan Kaufman‘s license to practice
following allegations of sexual exploitation in 1991. This May, the Department of Social and
Rehabilitation Services suspended the Kaufmans‘ guardianship over a mentally disabled
woman in her 50s who said she had been sexually abused for years. (AP in New York Times,
Internet, 10/28/04)
Kingston Clan/The Order
Polygamist Loses Custody
A Salt Lake City judge has approved a petition on behalf of the 13-year-old daughter of
John Daniel Kingston, head of the polygamous Kingston Clan, to be placed in the
permanent custody of the child‘s maternal uncle and his wife. A court earlier determined
that Kingston had abused his daughter and that her mother had neglected her by not
stopping the abuse. (AP, Internet, 7/26/04)
Defamation Suit Against Victim Dismissed
A suit for defamation brought by members of the polygamous Kingston Clan [The Order]
against a woman who says the group fosters sexual abuse of young girls through illegal
marriages, incest, and polygamy, has been dismissed by Utah‘s Second District Court.
Twenty-two-year-old Mary Ann Kingston, whose Third District Court suit names 242
members and 97 clan businesses as defendants, was beaten by her father when she ran
from a polygamous marriage to her uncle at the age of 16. The judge ruled that statements
made by Kingston and her lawyers at a news conference did not defame the plaintiffs. He
said the remarks were so general and regarding a group so large that no individual member
of the group of defendants could claim any harm. (AP, Internet, 8/20/04)
Latter-day Church of God/The Order
Alleged Child Abuse in Polygamous Clan Detailed
John Daniel Kingston, and Heidi Foster, one of his wives, are in court defending
themselves against charges of abuse brought by two of his daughters, 13 and 15, who say
their parents systematically beat and psychologically abused them. The Kingstons are
members of Utah‘s Latter Day Church of God, or The Order, some 1,200 adherents
who believe in and practice polygamy.
The children, now in state custody after running away from home, spoke on tape about
the abuse. Kingston — who operates a $150 million business ―empire‖ with operations in
six states, and who has 106 children by 14 wives living in a number of separate
households — denies the charges and believes the proceeding is ―a fishing expedition‖ for
information about the increasingly condemned practice of polygamy. He maintains his
