Two former religious leaders in British Columbia have been found guilty of polygamy in a precedent-setting trial that tested Canada’s old polygamy laws.
Winston Blackmore, 60, and James Oler, 53, were convicted on Monday of practising plural marriage in the fundamentalist community of Bountiful, B.C, about 700 kilometres east of Vancouver.
Both men are former bishops of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Mormon sect that believes in plural or so-called “celestial” marriages.
Oler was accused of having five wives and Blackmore 24 wives.
Neither denied having multiple marriages and Blackmore has fathered more than 145 children from his marriages.
“I’m guilty of living my religion and that’s all I’m saying today because I’ve never denied that,” Blackmore told reporters after the verdict.
“Twenty-seven years and tens of millions of dollars later, all we’ve proved is something we’ve never denied. I’ve never denied my faith. This is what we expected.”
Blackmore’s lawyer, Blair Suffredine, previously said he’d launch a constitutional challenge to the validity of the polygamy laws if his client were to be found guilty.
Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada explicitly bans polygamy.
The B.C. Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that laws banning polygamy were constitutional and did not violate religious freedoms guaranteed under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Both men were released on bail as they wait for their sentences. They could face up to five years in prison for the offence.
With files from The Canadian Press and CBC News
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