Utah Legislature cracks down on youth marriage amid polygamy lawsuits
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At the age of 15, Lu Ann Cooper became the fourth wife of her 23-year-old cousin as part of the Kingston polygamous group in Utah.
Now, as the president of Hope After Polygamy, Cooper said a bill passed during the 2025 legislative session could have helped to prevent situations like hers and others mentioned in a recent lawsuit against the Kingston family and its associated Davis County Cooperative Society and Latter Day Church of Christ.
On Jan. 22, Kathrine Nichols, another former member of the “Kingston Clan,” or “the Order,” filed a lawsuit against the Latter Day Church of Christ; its leader, Paul Elden Kingston; and Nichols’ ex-husband, Daniel Charles Kingston, who is also her uncle and Paul Elden Kingston’s son.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges the sex trafficking of underage order members, rape and abuse. The legal filing claims that Nichols, who was 16 at the time of her marriage, was forced to choose between three of her uncles to marry — with Daniel Charles Kingston, age 19, being the youngest.
Nichols was married to Kingston in 2021, becoming his third wife, after multiple marriage ceremonies in multiple states, the lawsuit alleges. The couple’s marriage was annulled in 2023 by a Utah court.
The legal action taken by Nichols is one in a series of lawsuits against the Kingston family, including, most recently, allegations filed in 2022 by 10 former members of the Kingston group also alleging sexual abuse and exploitation.
“It is a problem within polygamy in the state of Utah,” Cooper said. “I would hope that this bill would help situations that are in that lawsuit not happen in Utah or not happen at all.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.yahoo.com/news/utah-legislature-cracks-down-youth-021553193.html.
