![]() "It's been with us for well over 20 years. "This has been a very complex issue," Oppal told the Canadian Press. The group lived in seclusion and had little contact with the outside world until about 25 years ago.īritish Columbia Attorney General Wally Oppal said Blackmore is alleged to be married to 20 women, while Oler is accused of being married to two women. polygamist leader Warren Jeffs, who was sentenced in 2007 to 10 years to life in prison for two counts of rape as an accomplice for arranging marriages between his adult male followers and underage girls.Īpproximately 800 men, women, and children live in Bountiful, in southeastern British Columbia, which was first established in the 1940s. The Canadian branch is part of the breakaway sect led by jailed U.S. The settlement of Bountiful, is composed of members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS)-an offshoot of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which renounced polygamy more than a century ago. Laws banning polygamy date back decades, but no one has ever been prosecuted for breaking them. The criminal charges against the men are a first in Canada. Winston Blackmore, 52, and James Oler, 44, leaders of rival factions in their religious community, were arrested and charged in January with one count each of practicing polygamy. The case may also test whether Canada's decision to legalize same-sex marriage also justifies the practice of polygamy. ![]() Legal experts say the case promises to pit Canada's anti-polygamy law against the country's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of religious expression. Two top leaders of a fundamentalist polygamous sect in Bountiful, British Columbia, have been arrested and charged with practicing polygamy. ![]()
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