| Tattle: TLC's 'Sister Wives' sparks bigamy probe in Utah | |
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By Howard Gensler Philadelphia Daily News Daily News Tattle Columnist Philadelphia Inquirer | |
IN A CASE of life imitating art, TLC has taken the success of HBO's fictional "Big Love" and launched "Sister Wives," a reality show about a real polygamist and his family. The show is set in Utah. Duh! After only one episode, it's already making headlines, and not because 41-year-old ad salesman Kody Brown has four wives, 13 children and three stepchildren. No, it's because the show caught the attention of Utah law enforcement and triggered a bigamy investigation. Kody is legally married only to Meri Paul, but he also calls Janelle, Christine and Robyn his spouses. The three stepchildren are from Robyn's previous relationship. (Note to Kody: Call them mistresses and this will all go away.) The family issued a statement in response to the investigation (because when you do reality TV, you stop speaking and start issuing statements): "When we decided to do this show, we knew there would be risks. But for the sake of our family, and most importantly, our kids, we felt it was a risk worth taking." The Browns have said they hoped that the show's peek into their lives would help broaden the public's understanding of plural families. The public doesn't seem to care when Hef lives with three women. Although polygamy once was a common practice in the Mormon religion, the modern Mormon church (there's an oxymormon) excommunicates members found engaged in the practice. Still, an estimated 38,000 self-described fundamentalist Mormons continue to believe and/or practice polygamy, believing it brings exaltation in heaven. So once again, the fundamentalists bring the crazy. Although it is rarely prosecuted, bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah, punishable by a prison term of up to five years. On the bright side, however, a number of women schedule conjugal visits. Under the law, a person can be found guilty of bigamy through cohabitation, not just legal marriage contracts - which seems kind of nutty. Isn't the whole point of the "sanctity" of marriage that people actually be married? Local police said the evidence gathered from the probe will be turned over to the Utah County Attorney's Office, in Provo, for possible prosecution. It was in 2001 that Utah last prosecuted a polygamist for bigamy. Oddly enough, they're not prosecuted for polygamy. Once you have more than one wife, the rest are sort of legal throw-ins. The Utah Attorney General's Office often investigates the state's secretive polygamous communities, but focuses on cases involving allegations of abuse, sexual assault and fraud, not bigamy. "It has been our office's position not to pursue cases of bigamy between consenting adults," spokesman Scott Troxel said yesterday. "We want to use our resources wisely." | |
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Philly.com Originally published Wed, Sep. 29, 2010 | |
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