Winston Blackmore , 52 , and James Oler , 44 , were arrested by RCMP on Tuesday , Attorney General Wally Oppal said at a news conference Wednesday .
Wednesday
winston blackmore 52 james oler 44 arrest rcmp tuesday attorney general wally oppal say news conference wednesday
Winston Blackmore , 52 , and James Oler , 44 , were arrested by RCMP on Tuesday , Attorney General Wally Oppal said at a news conference <m> Wednesday </m> .
Two leaders in the polygamous community of Bountiful , B.C. , have been charged with practising polygamy under the Criminal Code .
Winston Blackmore , 52 , and James Oler , 44 , were arrested by RCMP on Tuesday , Attorney General Wally Oppal said at a news conference <m> Wednesday </m> .
Oler is the bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , while Blackmore is the former FLDS bishop who was ousted in 2002 after a power struggle with the sect 's prophet Warren Jeffs .
The two men were to appear in court Wednesday after an `` intensive '' seven-month investigation , Oppal said .
`` Mr. Blackmore it is alleged that he has committed polygamy with approximately 20 people , '' Oppal said .
`` And as far as Oler is concerned it is alleged that he has committed polygamy with two women . ''
Blackmore has been charged with `` practising polygamy '' on May 1 , 2005 and Oler has been charged with the same crime on Nov. 1 , 2004 , according to provincial court files .
`` I am pleased a prosecution will be proceeding , as it will provide legal clarity as to the constitutionality of section 293 of the Criminal Code ( concerning polygamy ) , '' Oppal said in a statement .
News of the charges was welcomed by Audrey Vance , co-chair of Altering Destiny Through Education , which is based in Creston , B.C. , not far from Bountiful .
Vance has lobbied for charges against Bountiful residents .
`` We all know this is a cult and we have to do something to address this because in Canada women do have equal rights , '' she said in an interview Wednesday .
Blackmore , who has had 26 wives and more than 100 children , is outspoken in his belief that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects his religious practice of polygamy - a tenet that was set out by Mormonism 's founder Joseph Smith , but was denounced by the mainstream church in 1890 .
At a polygamy summit in 2006 , Blackmore admitted that he had had `` several '' very young `` wives '' including one who was under 16 .
He repeated that when he was interviewed by CNN 's Larry King .
Blackmore lost his role as the Bountiful bishop after his disagreement with Jeffs , the church 's prophet who has been convicted of being an accomplice to the rape of a minor in Utah and is currently in jail in Arizona facing similar charges there .
Jeffs and other senior FLDS members have also been charged in Texas with offences related to the so-called `` spiritual marriages '' to under-aged girls .
Blackmore now leads a breakaway group that lives in the southeastern corner of B.C. and is the head of the Mormon Hills School Society , which runs a government-funded , independent school .
Over the years , Blackmore amassed a multi-million-dollar business empire that included a post-and-pole company , logging operations and a large farm .
Little is known about Oler , a mechanic .
He has never spoken to the media and there are few photos of him .
However , people within the community have confirmed that Oler has at least three wives , several of whom were in their teens when they were assigned to him in placement marriages by Jeffs .