Kingston teens spar in court

John Daniel Kingston's 15-year-old daughter is worried her role in his child-abuse trial could derail her arranged marriage to an uncle, her younger sister has testified.

The older girl disputes her 13-year-old sister's story but told a much different story 2 1/2 years ago when she herself was 13.

It was Nov. 2, 2001, and she had run away after allegedly telling officials she was being prepared for marriage to a 21-year-old man.

In a police report obtained by the Deseret Morning News from that night, the girl said she wanted out of the Kingston home and the polygamous order to which her family belongs.

"(The girl) does not want to be a part of that lifestyle and wants to be put in foster care," the report states.

According to that report, the now-15-year-old girl "said that her home life was not good and that her parents were always yelling at her and 'spanking' her and her siblings."

The girl was 13 at the time, the same age as the younger sister who is now leveling allegations similar to those the older girl has since recanted. The younger sister testified Kingston beat her, her mother and her siblings, and forced his children to eat rotten food he dug out of the garbage, drink rotten milk and worse.

Now the older sister tells a different story. In videotaped testimony, she said she lied to police about the abuse in 2001 but now swears she is telling the truth that Kingston has never beaten or abused her.

"Every family's got its ups and downs . . . like it's got its goods and bads," the 15-year-old testified. "But then the good makes up for the bad."

Changing stories is typical for teens involved in polygamy, a former polygamous wife said. Vicky Prunty, executive director of Tapestry Against Polygamy, said she sees the trend all the time.

"She is so confused and she has so much at stake here," Prunty said of the 15-year-old girl. "She loves her family and has been taught all of her life to protect them, so she's going to be flip-floppy."

The 13-year-old testified her older sister is angry with her for telling police about alleged abuse.

"She thinks her life is ruined," the 13-year-old testified.