CANADA
CBC News
A former religious leader in B.C. has been found guilty of polygamy after marrying more than two dozen women over the course of 25 years.
Winston Blackmore was charged with practising plural or “celestial” marriage in the fundamentalist community of Bountiful, B.C.
In B.C. Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Sheri Ann Donegan said he “subscribed to beliefs and practices of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,” a Mormon sect that believes in plural marriages.
The verdict was delivered in Cranbrook, northeast of Creston.
Another former leader from the same community, James Oler, who is accused of having five wives, is also facing a single polygamy charge. Both Blackmore and Older were charged with one count each in 2009.
The judge has yet to rule on Oler’s case.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.