Two leaders of polygamous groups with ties to Utah have been arrested in Canada , charged with practicing polygamy .
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leader polygamous group tie utah arrest canada charge practice polygamy
Two leaders of polygamous <m> groups </m> with ties to Utah have been arrested in Canada , charged with practicing polygamy .
Polygamous leaders arrested in Canada , ordered to surrender passports
Two leaders of polygamous <m> groups </m> with ties to Utah have been arrested in Canada , charged with practicing polygamy .
One of the wives of former Fundamentalist LDS Church leader Winston Blackmore confirmed his arrest Wednesday .
`` It 's for polygamy , '' she said , declining to give her name but telling the Deseret News she was one of Blackmore 's wives .
She also said FLDS bishop Jim Oler was also arrested .
The criminal charges were filed Tuesday in Creston , British Columbia .
In Canada , polygamy is illegal .
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 prosecutor recommended polygamy and sexual exploitation charges but British Columbia attorney general Wally Oppal opted to only pursue polygamy charges , noting that Blackmore has 20 wives and Oler has two .
`` The defendants should raise any constitutional issues , '' Oppal said , in response to questions about polygamists ' religious freedoms claims .
Oppal denied that the prosecution was political , despite the former attorney general for British Columbia and several special prosecutors declining to pursue charges against anyone in the fundamentalist enclave of Bountiful .
Both Blackmore and Oler were to be released from RCMP custody late Wednesday pending a future court appearance .
They were ordered by a judge to surrender their passports , check in with RCMP authorities , not leave British Columbia and perform no `` celestial marriages , '' said RCMP Sgt. Tim Shields .
A spokesman for the FLDS Church did not immediately return a call seeking comment .
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 'm amazed they are actually doing that . ''
Batchelor said she had been in contact with some of Blackmore 's wives , whom she said were understandably upset .
Blackmore was a bishop in the Utah-based FLDS Church until he was excommunicated in 2002 .
The fundamentalists who live in Bountiful , British Columbia , split with some following Blackmore and others remaining in the FLDS Church led by Warren Jeffs .
Oler was a bishop in Bountiful , the FLDS enclave there .
The attorney general of British Columbia has been probing the polygamous communities on allegations of sex abuse , human trafficking and forced marriages .
Several special prosecutors were appointed to give opinions on prosecuting polygamy laws in Canada .
In an e-mail to the Deseret News in 2006 , Blackmore acknowledged being the subject of a Canadian police inquiry .
`` Since we are not hiding we are not hard to find , '' he wrote .
`` It is hard to think that Canada , the home of free lovers and legalized same-sex marriages , not to mention legal wife-swapping clubs , could waste their time on people who live like we do . ''