Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Canadian prosecutors approve polygamy charges

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Polygamy charges have once again been filed against two leaders of a polygamous fundamentalist Mormon community, British Columbia's Ministry of Justice said Wednesday.

Winston Blackmore and James Oler each face charges of polygamy. Similar charges against the men were quashed in 2009 in a dispute over the appointment of prosecutors.

Oler and two others face charges of removal of a child under 16 from Canada for sexual purposes.

The new charges come after an investigation by a special prosecutor starting in January 2012.

That investigation considered earlier investigations and charge assessments as well as investigations into members of the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints communities in Arizona, Texas and Utah.

The child-removal charges resulted from U.S. investigations.

The four will appear in court Oct. 9.

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