Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 3, Nos. 2 &3, 2004, Page 123
daughters‘ testimony was ―coached,‖ pointing out that they had been out of the home for
90 days when first questioned.
The 13-year-old says her father forced children to eat rotten food he dug out of the
garbage and drink spoiled milk. Then, ―he let them throw up and (made) them drink it. ..
Arrest my dad and have him be in jail forever, or else do to him what he‘s done to us,‖
said the girl. She called police when Kingston allegedly threatened them for piercing their
ears. He says: ―We believe we should keep our bodies complete. If the Lord wanted us to
have holes in our ears, he would have put them there.‖
Kingston allegedly once dragged a pregnant Heidi Foster down a set of stairs by the hair,
according to the 13-year-old, and when confronted later about the incident said, ―Oh, are
you sure it wasn‘t a dream?‖ A complaint filed by the state guardian office says Foster is
culpable for failing to protect the girls.
The state could try to remove all of Kingston‘s children if it is determined he abused the
two now in custody. The 13-year old doesn‘t want the other children removed from
Kingston‘s households. ―Just take my dad away. Either you can get 100 kids or get one
guy. Which one is easier? I think it‘s right to take my dad instead ...of making the kids
and the moms suffer.‖ (KSL TV News, Internet, 5/25/04 Leigh Dethman, Deseret Morning
News, Internet, 5/26/04)
Polygamist Ruled Abusive to Daughters
Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Valdez ruled in Salt Lake City that John Daniel Kingston, a
wealthy businessman, father of an estimated 100 children, and a leader of the polygamous
Kingston Clan/The Order, abused two of his daughters. The judge gave temporary
custody of the girls to an aunt and uncle who are not members of the group. They‘ll be able
to visit their mother, Heidi Foster, whom the judge said was negligent in not protecting
them. Kingston, who was ordered to keep away from all ten of his children by Foster unless
the visits are supervised, pleaded no contest in 1999 to felony abuse after beating a 16-
year-old daughter for running away from a prearranged polygamous marriage to one of his
brothers. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 6/4/04)
Judge Valdez also ordered that the Foster children be given new birth certificates, with his
name on them, in order to ensure their inheritance rights and to end alleged efforts to hide
his links to them.
The head of the state Guardian ad Litem office says she took the lead in pressing the case
against Kingston because the Division of Child and Family Services ―has a view that you
need to be tolerant of different people‘s cultures. They viewed this as a polygamy case and I
was viewing it as a child abuse and neglect case.‖
In February, two of Kingston‘s children, ages 2 and 4, were found wandering along a busy
street and taken home to an ―extremely filthy and unsanitary‖ house. DFCS has provided
Foster with 54 months of homemaking lessons and periodic supervision. A DFCS
spokeswoman said her agency was ―looking at long-term solutions for those girls. We don‘t
feel that just putting them into foster care is a long-term solution.‖ (AP in Casper Star
Tribune, Wyoming, Internet, 6/18/04)
Lord’s Resistance Army
Abducted Girl Relates Experiences
Charlotte Awino, freed earlier this year from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) after more
than eight years‘ in captivity, tells of abduction from her home village in 1996, as a 14-
year-old, and life as a virtual slave, taught to kill. The rebel LRA has been fighting the
daughters‘ testimony was ―coached,‖ pointing out that they had been out of the home for
90 days when first questioned.
The 13-year-old says her father forced children to eat rotten food he dug out of the
garbage and drink spoiled milk. Then, ―he let them throw up and (made) them drink it. ..
Arrest my dad and have him be in jail forever, or else do to him what he‘s done to us,‖
said the girl. She called police when Kingston allegedly threatened them for piercing their
ears. He says: ―We believe we should keep our bodies complete. If the Lord wanted us to
have holes in our ears, he would have put them there.‖
Kingston allegedly once dragged a pregnant Heidi Foster down a set of stairs by the hair,
according to the 13-year-old, and when confronted later about the incident said, ―Oh, are
you sure it wasn‘t a dream?‖ A complaint filed by the state guardian office says Foster is
culpable for failing to protect the girls.
The state could try to remove all of Kingston‘s children if it is determined he abused the
two now in custody. The 13-year old doesn‘t want the other children removed from
Kingston‘s households. ―Just take my dad away. Either you can get 100 kids or get one
guy. Which one is easier? I think it‘s right to take my dad instead ...of making the kids
and the moms suffer.‖ (KSL TV News, Internet, 5/25/04 Leigh Dethman, Deseret Morning
News, Internet, 5/26/04)
Polygamist Ruled Abusive to Daughters
Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Valdez ruled in Salt Lake City that John Daniel Kingston, a
wealthy businessman, father of an estimated 100 children, and a leader of the polygamous
Kingston Clan/The Order, abused two of his daughters. The judge gave temporary
custody of the girls to an aunt and uncle who are not members of the group. They‘ll be able
to visit their mother, Heidi Foster, whom the judge said was negligent in not protecting
them. Kingston, who was ordered to keep away from all ten of his children by Foster unless
the visits are supervised, pleaded no contest in 1999 to felony abuse after beating a 16-
year-old daughter for running away from a prearranged polygamous marriage to one of his
brothers. (AP in New York Times, Internet, 6/4/04)
Judge Valdez also ordered that the Foster children be given new birth certificates, with his
name on them, in order to ensure their inheritance rights and to end alleged efforts to hide
his links to them.
The head of the state Guardian ad Litem office says she took the lead in pressing the case
against Kingston because the Division of Child and Family Services ―has a view that you
need to be tolerant of different people‘s cultures. They viewed this as a polygamy case and I
was viewing it as a child abuse and neglect case.‖
In February, two of Kingston‘s children, ages 2 and 4, were found wandering along a busy
street and taken home to an ―extremely filthy and unsanitary‖ house. DFCS has provided
Foster with 54 months of homemaking lessons and periodic supervision. A DFCS
spokeswoman said her agency was ―looking at long-term solutions for those girls. We don‘t
feel that just putting them into foster care is a long-term solution.‖ (AP in Casper Star
Tribune, Wyoming, Internet, 6/18/04)
Lord’s Resistance Army
Abducted Girl Relates Experiences
Charlotte Awino, freed earlier this year from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) after more
than eight years‘ in captivity, tells of abduction from her home village in 1996, as a 14-
year-old, and life as a virtual slave, taught to kill. The rebel LRA has been fighting the
