| Kody Brown of TLC's "Sister Wives" marries fourth; bigamy charges unlikely | |
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By Lisa Von App Salt Lake City Page One Examiner | |
Polygamist Kody Brown of TLC’s new reality series "Sister Wives," has allegedly married wife number four, Robyn Sullivan. TMZ is reporting that the private ceremony was held several months ago in Utah; however, TLC cameras were only allowed to film the reception which producers say will be featured in a future episode. The Brown family is currently under investigation by the Utah County Attorney's office for bigamy; however, no charges have been filed yet. Authorities say there are numerous polygamous families in Utah, and officials don’t have adequate resources to investigate them all. Utah County Attorney, Jeff Buhman, told Fox News that polygamists aren’t typically charged exclusively with bigamy, a third-degree felony. A more serious crime such as child endangerment must be brought to authorities’ attention. "In my experience...there has never been a traditional polygamist family charged with the sole crime of bigamy," he said. Brown’s marriage to Sullivan brings the clan total to 21 members: four wives—Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn—and their 16 children. Sources say that Brown’s marriage to Meri is the only legal union; the other three were merely spiritual ceremonies. Third wife, Christine, told the Associated Press that the family lives in a closed society. "That was one of the reasons we wanted to do the show, to open up our society, just so people can see what it’s like. Because of that, I think that there is a lot of fear that comes from doing things like this. We just want to show our family. We don’t even want to go into our church life," she said. The majority of Utahns, however, aren't readily accepting of the Browns' unusual lifestyle choices. The following question was asked by 2News in a recent online poll: "Should the Lehi family featured in TLC’s new TV series "Sister Wives" be investigated?" Sixty-two percent of voters responded, saying, "Yes. Polygamy is against the law in Utah," while thirty-eight percent said "No. They aren’t hurting anyone." Sources: TMZ, Fox News, Associated Press and 2News | |
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Examiner.com Originally published October 11th, 2010 | |
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