The polygamist, whose 24 spouse and 149 children, is sure that nothing breaks
'30.06.2018'
Source: Mirror
The nine wives of former religious leader Winston Blackmore did not reach 18 years, and four of them were 15-year-olds when he married them. The man, whose wife 24 and 149 children, was arrested and charged with polygamy.
When the verdict was read out - six months of house arrest - bitter tears flowed in the courtroom: the relatives hugged each other while the judge read out the verdict, writes Mirror.
“I am guilty of living my religion, and that is all I can say today - because I have never denied it. Twenty-seven years, tens of millions of dollars later, I will repeat - I have not denied my belief, ”Blackmore said after the verdict.
Winston Blackmore, 61, was present at the trial along with the accused under the same heading, 54-year-old James Ohler, a member of the same religious sect. Oler was charged with polygamy: he has five wives, one of whom was barely 15 years old, and the other two were 17 at the time of the wedding. The man has 13 children. Ohler's verdict is three months of house arrest in Alberta, with exceptions for work, emergency medical care, and life-saving actions.
Judge Sheri Ann Donegan described the men as law-abiding citizens who practice polygamy due to their religious beliefs. Both are former bishops of the Latter-day Saint Fundamentalist Church, a breakaway Mormon sect in Bountiful, British Columbia. Their sentences will be followed by a 12-month probationary period and 150 hours of community service for Blackmore and 75 hours for Oler.
According to court documents, Blackmore married 24 women between 1990 and 2014 for years. Oler married five women between 1993 and 2009.
According to Canadian law, the maximum penalty for polygamy is five years in prison, but such sentences have not been imposed in the country for more than a century.
