Not guilty pleas entered in polygamy trial

CRANBROOK (CP) — The leader of a fundamentalist sect that condones plural marriage remained silent as a long-awaited trial of two men on polygamy charges began Tuesday in British Columbia.

Winston Blackmore had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf in B.C. Supreme Court, while James Oler pleaded not guilty. Each man faces one charge of polygamy. Both men have served as bishops for the religious settlement of Bountiful, which follows the teachings of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-Day Saints, often referred to as the FLDS.

Oler is representing himself while Blackmore stood beside his lawyer and remained mute when asked for a plea.

Justice Sheri Donegan said a not guilty plea would be entered on his behalf. Blackmore’s lawyer, Blair Suffredine, said outside court his client chose to say nothing for religious reasons.

“He doesn’t want to deny his faith. He doesn’t feel guilty,” Suffredine said. “The technical way around that is don’t say anything and they’ll enter the plea not guilty.”

Blackmore is accused of marrying 24 women over 25 years in the community.

Prosecutor Peter Wilson told the court his case includes marriage records seized from the church’s Yearning for Zion Ranch in Texas, which were used in 2010 to sentence leader Warren Jeffs to life in a U.S. prison for sexually assaulting two young girls.

“The Crown will present evidence establishing that members of the FLDS, including the accused, engage or have engaged in the practice of polygamy, which is what the FLDS refers to as plural marriage or celestial marriage,” Wilson said. “Specifically, the Crown will demonstrate that both accused entered into marriages with multiple women.”

Wilson said he expects to call expert witnesses to testify on the origin and history of polygamy, in addition to Norma Jane Blackmore, who is Blackmore’s first wife and Oler’s sister.

The case has a long history dating back to the early 1990s when police first investigated allegations that residents of an isolated religious community were practising multiple marriages.