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Guilty of polygamy x2

UPDATE: 2:30 p.m.

Two former bishops of an isolated religious commune in British Columbia have been convicted of practising polygamy after a decades-long legal fight launched by the provincial government.

The court found James Oler married five women in so-called "celestial" marriages involving residents in the tiny religious community of Bountiful.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan ruled earlier today that Oler's co-defendant Winston Blackmore was also guilty of polygamy after the trial heard he married 24 additional women after marrying Jane Blackmore.


ORIGINAL: 1:15 p.m.

A former bishop of an isolated religious commune in British Columbia has been convicted of practising polygamy after a decades-long legal fight launched by the provincial government.

Winston Blackmore was alleged to have married 24 women as part of so-called "celestial" marriages involving residents in the tiny community of Bountiful.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan says the collective force of evidence against Blackmore proves that he was married to Jane Blackmore and 24 other women at the same time.

Blackmore's lawyer has already told the court that he will launch a constitutional challenge of Canada's polygamy laws if his client is found guilty.

Blackmore's co-defendant James Oler is accused of having five wives and Justice Sheri Ann Donegan has yet to announce a verdict for him.



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