Utah polygamous group forced underaged marriages between close relatives to keep blood 'pure': lawsuit

Members of the Kingston Group, a powerful polygamous group in Utah, have filed a lawsuit claiming they were forced into underage marriages with their relatives to keep their blood “pure,” were raped by their husbands, and were forced to perform child labor, the New York Post reports.

Among the 10 people who filed the lawsuit is Amanda Rae Grant, who starred in the A&E docu-series “Escaping Polygamy.” The suit, filed against the group’s leader Paul Eldon Kingston and 21 other members, alleges sex trafficking, sexual battery and child abuse, and seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.

The lawsuit alleged the group, also known as "The Order," wanted to maintain “Pure Kingston Blood” by arranging marriages between close relatives and shunned marriages that weren't between white people. Members were also taught that those who did not have "pure blood" wouldn't survive the apocalypse.

The lawsuit also alleged that women who were disobedient and failed to bear children — even if they miscarried — were ostracized.

IN OTHER NEWS: 'Embarrassed' Trump acknowledged his election defeat — but then his mood abruptly changed: new book

“It is a common and intentional practice in the Order to require girls and women to submit sexually to their husbands even if the sexual submission is against their will because having children results in workers for the benefit of the Order,” the lawsuit states.

A young child is also one of the accusers in the suit and alleges that he/she was raped by his/her father, who also allegedly raped the mother.

John Gustafson, who represents an organization affiliated with the The Order, disputed the lawsuit in a statement.

“Much of what we have reviewed appears frivolous and unfounded,” Gustafson said. “We don’t expect any of the claims to prevail in a court of law.”