Countersuit over forced polygamy jams case

Mary Ann Kingston‘s lawsuit against her family – claiming they knew she was forced at age 16 to marry her polygamist uncle – is going nowhere fast.

Filed a year ago in 3rd District Court, Kingston’s personal injury suit names 242 members of the 1,200-member Kingston clan and nearly 100 businesses operated by family members. She claims family members knew about the incestuous relationship, but did nothing to stop it.

Now, the Kingston clan has filed a countersuit against Mary Ann Kingston and her attorneys – claiming defamation and invasion of privacy.

The Kingston family is also suing the anti-polygamy group Tapestry Against Polygamy and others who advised or assisted Mary Ann Kingston in bringing her lawsuit.

The countersuit also names The Salt Lake Tribune, which last month reported that defamation suits filed in Davis County by four Kingston family members against Mary Ann Kingston had been dismissed.

Responded Tribune executive editor Tom Baden: “Our readers depend on The Tribune to cover, aggressively and fairly, issues that are important to the public. And that’s exactly what we have done in this matter.”

At a Monday review hearing, Judge William Barrett declined to set cutoff or scheduling dates, noting that the defendants named in the counterclaim would have to be served and obtain attorneys. “The complexion [of the case] has changed,” Barrett said.

Mary Ann Kingston, now 23, in 1997 became the 15th wife of her 33-year-old uncle, David Ortell Kingston, who later served four years in prison for incest and unlawful sexual contact with a minor.

When the girl tried to flee the illegal marriage, her father, John Daniel Kingston, beat her unconscious, which landed him in jail for 28 weeks on a child abuse conviction.

Mary Ann Kingston seeks $110 million in damages from the Kingston clan, claiming intentional sexual abuse of a child, intentional infliction of emotional trauma, assault, battery and false imprisonment.

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