Canada: le chef d'une secte accusé de polygamie avec 20 épouses
AFP 08.01. 09 practiced polygamy with nearly 20 people, "said Minister Wally Oppal during a press conference. The second accused, James Marion Oler, 44, is suspected of having two spouses at the time did he added.
MM. Blackmore, 52, and Oler, 44, run two rival groups of a polygamous community located 50 years in the town of Bountiful, 700 km east of Vancouver (west) 20 km north of the border with the United States.
hundred men live with 900 women and children.
For several years, many stories reported that young girls, aged sometimes 12 years, were married to much older men in ceremonies called "celestial".
The various governments of British Columbia have consistently considered the past 20 years to bring charges against this branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, an American dissident Mormon Church.
far, however, they had not to do so, arguing that prosecutions are not successful because of the safeguards protecting religious freedom in the Canadian constitution.
But last June, Wally Oppal appointed a special prosecutor, Terrence Robertson, to explore possibilities of launching lawsuits against the polygamous community.
The charges Wednesday were the result of "an intense seven months," Mr Robertson will provide a "legal clarification" on the illegality of polygamy, even advocated a religion, a minister déclaréle of Justice.
Polygamy is punishable by five years in prison in Canada.
See the study on polygamy by SoDRUS
Research Group on Law, Religion and Society at the University of Sherbrooke quebecoise
0 comments:
Post a Comment