Leaders of polygamists are arrested in Canada

Two leaders of polygamous groups with ties to Utah have been arrested in Canada, charged with practicing polygamy.

Winston Blackmore, a former bishop of the Fundamentalist LDS Church, was arrested Wednesday. So was Jim Oler, the current bishop over the FLDS enclave in Bountiful, British Columbia.

"It had to happen eventually," one of Blackmore's wives told the Deseret News, asking that her name not be used. "We'll be fine. After all the years of investigating that's the best they could come up with? Maybe they will decriminalize it."

The criminal indictments were filed in Creston, British Columbia, on Tuesday and carry a potential punishment of up to five years in prison. Blackmore, 52, is accused of practicing polygamy with 19 women between 2005 and 2006. Oler, 44, is accused of engaging in a polygamous relationship with two women between 2004 and 2008.

The indictments name the women.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they began their investigation in 2005 and revisited it earlier this year after a special prosecutor recommended charges.

"The investigation focused on two separate individuals who hold positions of authority and trust within the community of Bountiful," RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields said Wednesday.

The prosecutor recommended polygamy and sexual exploitation charges, but British Columbia Attorney General Wally Oppal opted to only pursue polygamy charges, claiming that Blackmore has 20 wives.

"The law is quite clear. It prohibits polygamous practices from taking place," Oppal said. "This section of the criminal code was enacted prohibiting this type of conduct in order to prevent the exploitation of women."

FLDS member and spokesman Willie Jessop said it was a "horrific day" for faithful in Canada and worried about how widespread the polygamy prosecutions would become.

"They carry out a vindictive hatred towards our religion," he said Wednesday.

Oppal was unconcerned with arguments about religious freedom.

"If there is a constitutional defense, it should be advanced by the defendants," he said.

Oppal denied that the prosecution was political, despite the former attorney general for British Columbia and several special prosecutors declining to pursue charges in the first place. The attorney general is also filing the charges independent of Canada's criminal justice branch, exercising his power to overrule their decision to not pursue charges.

Oppal declined to say if he would level charges against anyone else.

News of the charges stunned many.

"I'm shocked. I really am," said Mary Batchelor, the director of the Utah-based pro-polygamy group Principle Voices. "I feel Canada's been really harsh and antagonistic towards them. They have the idea they're going to rescue all these people and we've learned in Utah and Texas that doesn't work."

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