Polygamist John Daniel Kingston says he knows all his children, but in court Friday he could name only nine of the 13 he fathered with one wife.

When prompted to name the children from just three of his wives, Kingston struggled and at one point asked the judge, "I think I named them all, didn't I?"

"I'm really nervous," said Kingston, who is believed to have 14 wives. "I know my children."

Kingston was in 3rd District Court Friday with one of his wives, Heidi Foster, for the second day of a termination of parental rights hearing. The state is seeking to remove two of Kingston's teenage daughters from their home after accusations of physical abuse and neglect.

Upon further questioning about children from other wives, defense attorney Daniel Irvin sat on the stand with Kingston and instructed him to refrain from answering, invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Kingston testified that he has instructed all of his children to not call him "father," outside of the home.

"We do tell our children there are certain people out there that are trying to hurt our family," Kingston said. But although the children cannot refer to him as their father outside of the home, Kingston said, "We're very close."

A former member of "The Order," the polygamous clan Kingston belongs to, told the court that only the first wife in a polygamist situation will take the name of the husband. Jeremy Tucker, who left the group in 2001, said the other wives take on false last names so they can receive state aid and avoid criminal prosecution in polygamy cases.

"The reason is so the children's father wouldn't be traced as easily," Tucker said.

Kingston landed in court after allegedly threatening to beat two of his teenage daughters, ages 15 and 13, for having their ears pierced.

According to the testimony from the 13-year-old girl, Kingston once grabbed one of his sons by the hair and slapped the boy for scratching the family's van. When asked what happened to the boy's face, the girl responded, "(It) got bruised for a while."

If the judge rules that Kingston abused and neglected the two girls, the eight other Foster children could be taken from the home as siblings-at-risk.

In a side issue Friday, an angry Judge Andrew Valdez ordered a paralegal for the defense team to leave the courtroom because of a conflict of interest. Laura Fuller, who had been named in prior court testimony as one of Kingston's wives, had told the judge she was not in any way related to Kingston.

"I was informed she was a law clerk," Valdez said. "Now it turns out she may . . . have a child and be the wife of John Daniel Kingston."