Mormon polygamist's conviction celebrated
 Canadian activists fete Jeffs' conviction on rape charge
 
By Suzanne Fournier
The Province - Vancouver
 
Anti-polygamy activists in Canada yesterday celebrated a Utah jury's conviction of notorious polygamous Mormon leader Warren Jeffs as an accomplice to rape, saying they hope it helps fortify the resolve of B.C. lawmakers.

Jeffs, 51, who could get life in prison for helping to force a 14-year-old girl into marriage and sex against her will, has about 10,000 followers in the U.S. and many in the Bountiful polygamous community near Creston, where a power struggle has pitted his followers against the self-styled Bishop of Bountiful, Winston Blackmore.

"Guilty! Guilty!" Anti-Polygamy Network spokeswoman Nancy Mereska trumpeted online.

Guilty! Does that mean charges will at last be laid in Canada? Does that mean authorities are going to now work their way down charging other FLDS [Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints], who believe they can force young girls into harems, force young men out into a world they do not trust?" demanded Mereska.

Blackmore, who admits to marrying more than 20 wives, some when they were 15, has more than 100 children, most of whom still live in Bountiful.

Although polygamy is illegal in Canada, B.C. declined in 1990 and again after a recent RCMP investigation to lay charges against anyone in Bountiful, fearing a constitutional argument in reprisal.

Special prosecutor Richard Peck recommended in August that B.C. refer the polygamy laws to the B.C. Court of Appeal, arguing that "religious freedoms are not absolute."

B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal asked for "a second opinion" on Peck's decision.

Oppal said he expects a decision "within a few weeks" from senior lawyer Len Doust as to whether "B.C. can take the second route, where we lay charges and let the defence raise the constitutional issue."

Oppal said the recent RCMP investigation into Bountiful looked at allegations that young girls there have been forced into marriage and sex. He noted the age of consent is 14, despite a pending federal bill that would raise it to 16.

"We would never foreclose on the possibility of further charges but I understand the police frustration, because every time they've gone out to Bountiful, they're met with silence from the so-called victims," said Oppal.

sfournier@png.canwest.com
 
canada.com
Originally published Wednesday, September 26, 2007
 
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