Skip to main content.
Religion News Blog is a non-profit service providing academics, religion professionals and other researchers with religion & cult news
ReligionNewsBlog

Religion news articles about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues

Navigation:
Home | Site Menu | About RNB | RNB Store | Cult FAQ | Cult Experts | Apologetics Index | Cult Information Search Engine
A Random Image


 Search



 Share & Follow Religion News Blog


 Remember These Stories?


 Amazon

More articles about: Polygamy:

New judge takes over custody case for polygamist’s children

Associated Press, via the Casper Star-Tribune, USA
July 7, 2005
Debbie Hummel, Associated Press Writer
www.casperstartribune.net

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Thursday July 7, 2005

WEST JORDAN, Utah (AP) – An assistant Utah attorney general said Tuesday she will file a motion to terminate the parental rights of Heidi Mattingly and polygamist John Daniel Kingston.

The couple have 11 children, most of whom have been in state custody since October, after further allegations of abuse and neglect surfaced during a case that initially only dealt with their two oldest daughters.

Attorney Carolyn Nichols, who took part in Tuesday’s hearing via telephone, announced her intention to terminate the rights at a scheduling hearing in the protracted child custody case. She plans to file that motion Monday when she returns to town.

”It confirmed everything I thought the state was going to do,” Mattingly said after the hearing.

However, Third District Juvenile Court Judge Elizabeth Lindsley said both the parents and the children deserve a review hearing on any progress being made in reuniting the children with their mother.

She denied Nichols’ request to schedule a pretrial hearing to terminate parental rights instead of that review hearing.

Instead, Lindsley set aside three days – July 18, 21 and 22 – to review the children’s progress and to review the findings of the judge who had presided over most of the case.

Third District Juvenile Court Judge Andrew Valdez ruled in April that Mattingly had made significant progress through therapy and counseling and the children should be gradually reunited with their mother.

He was scheduled to review the progress at a June 28 hearing, but wound up recusing himself at the request of the state.

Nichols asked Valdez to remove himself after the judge’s son got into an altercation with other Kingston children outside the courthouse during the April hearing. The judge selected to replace Valdez last week also recused himself because he had earlier prosecuted members of the Kingston clan.

Since the April hearing, two of the couple’s sons have returned home. The two teenage daughters who were the initial subject of the abuse and neglect allegations have told a judge they don’t wish to return home. Six children ranging in age from 2 to 12 years are in foster homes, and a 1-year-old daughter has always remained in Mattingly’s care.

Bookmark share or email this Religion News Blog page Bookmark, Share, or Email This Page

 

Read another article Read Another Article

Tags and keywords for this Apologetics Index entry Related News Articles

arrow Topic(s): Polygamy
arrow

RSS Feed Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates

Religion News Find Related Information

Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults:
arrow ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.
arrow CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Religion News Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com

Religion News Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles

Religion News Search Search Religion News Blog