A federal judge in Utah has started hearing evidence in a child labor case involving a Utah polygamous sect, including testimony from a former member who says she would have been kicked out of the group if she didn't work on a pecan harvest.
Alyssa Bistline said she started work on the pecan ranch at age 13 at the direction of group leaders. She said she was expected to work harvests on and off until she left the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 2013.
Federal labor investigators say Paragon Contractors used 1,400 unpaid laborers, including 175 children, from the polygamous church during a harvest captured by news cameras in 2012. The company is closely affiliated with the FLDS Church, according to court records.
The U.S Labor Department is asking a judge to hold Paragon in contempt of court for violating an order against using child labor. It also wants Paragon to pay back wages.
The company denies doing anything wrong. Its lawyers say women and children from the church were volunteering to collect fallen nuts, not working as employees.