Canadian with 24 wives and 145 children convicted of polygamy
'27.07.2017'
Source: Yahoo
61-year-old Winston Blackmore, who has 24 wives and over 145 children, is found guilty of polygamy.
This decision was made by the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Canada, reports Yahoo.
The same sentence was received by Blackmore's former son-in-law, 53-year-old James Oler, who has 5 wives. Men face up to 5 years in prison.
Winston and James are former bishops in the breakaway Mormon sect of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Flds). They are from the settlement Bountiful in British Columbia, the polygamist community, which has about 1500 people. It was founded in 1946 year.
Judge Sheri Ann Donegan indicated in her ruling that Blackmore does not deny her polygamy.
“His commitment to methods and beliefs Flds not in dispute, ”she said.
It is noted that the prosecutor’s office tried to indict Oler and Blackmore for 20 years. The problem was that the ban on polygamy would violate the right to freedom of religion. In 2011, it was decided in court that the consequences of polygamy provide grounds for restricting religious freedoms.
Blackmore married 24 women during 25 years, and one of his ex-wives testified at the 12-day trial earlier this year. Jane Blackmore, who left the congregation in 2003, told the court that her husband told her that she “does only what God told him,” having many wives.
“She was a careful witness,” Judge Donegan said. There was nothing contrived or rehearsed in her answers. She was impartial. "
According to court documents, Blackmore was accused of “a kind of marital union” with 24 women in the period from 1990 to 2014. After the verdict, he said that he lives his religion and that this is important for him and his family.
The sect is based in a remote mountainous region of British Columbia, and its supporters grow their food, hunt, and have a barter economy. This is part of the same group led by American polygamist Warren Jeffs, who is said to control the sect from a prison in Texas where he is serving a life sentence for sexual abuse of underage girls whom he considered brides.
In the 18 century, the dominant Mormon church refused polygamy.
