A British Columbia man living in a polygamist sect has 25 wives and 101 children with brides as young as 15, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police allege.
Winston Blackmore, 52, is charged with one count of practicing polygamy as a member of the Bountiful sect, which has about 1,000 members.
In an affidavit filed with the provincial Supreme Court, the RCMP alleges since 1976, Blackmore had nine child brides, four of whom were 15, CTV reported. In Vancouver, he told reporters “that’s wrong” as documents were being filed for a pre-trial hearing.
The RCMP named four of the brides who allegedly had their first children by Blackmore before they turned 18. Federal law was changed in 2008 to raise the age of marital consent to 16 from 14.
His lawyers have said his defense will be the ban on polygamy violates Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for April, but Blackmore’s lawyers are trying to have the case thrown out on procedural issues.
I couldn’t care less how many spouses anyone wants to have. If it’s mutual consent, you’re not harming anyone else – stay out of their lives.
looks like good hunting country but not good for crops. I’ll lay odds 30% or more of his wives/kiddies are on the public dole?
Combined IQ? 127
The problem is that when the children in these polygamist groups grow up, the girls are brainwashed and married off to old men, and the young men are kicked out, penniless and without an education. These women live slavish lives, and would defend the practice.
Don’t forget. Warren Jeffs is the only guy who had more power than this guy..
Some real charmers.
When it’s a 15-year old and an adult, mutual consent is not the issue. He can have as many adult wives as he can convince, not as many teenage girls he can coerce into his herd.
At one time, government had established churches which suppressed all sorts of bizarre living arrangements. Now that they are powerless, the whole of Western Civilization is loaded with these types of loathsome relationships promoted by well-financed degenerates. So, how is this family different from the usual “California Lifestyle”?
#1 Not necessarily on the dole. Think of it in a business concept. Each wife is a subsidiary that must work them self (after initial startup) to pay for the subsidiary’s cost as well as kicking some up to the head office. The children also can be working. And the young females are valuable assets to be traded or sold off to enrich the CEO.
Ever notice its always one husband, many wives. You never hear of it being many husbands, one wife. As Andy Rooney would say, “I wonder why that is.”
If it’s mutual consent, you’re not harming anyone else – stay out of their lives.
I don’t often disagree with you, Eideard but I have some trouble convincing myself a brainwashed 15 year old can competently provide informed consent.
It also seems unlikely, if they could provide such consent, they’d choose such an ugly, fat old man as their ideal mate for life.
“If it’s mutual consent, you’re not harming anyone else – stay out of their lives.”
So, Eiderard, you think a child barely into her teens is capable of giving informed, adult consent to being assigned to marry a man in his 40s or 50s? And if she was unfortunate enough to be assigned to Blackmore himself, she gets to be at the bottom of a 25-wife pecking order? If you can twist your mind into accepting that, you’re pretty far gone, my friend. For shame.
Not only is it a family, but a business arrangement. The wives often work in businesses owned by these jerks for less than minimum wage. Money is deducted living expenses for the woman and her kids.
A guy can staff a store with his wives, and only pay them a few dollars when he feels like it. Brilliant!
Hey guys. Lay off this poor schlub. Remember, he has 25 mother-in-laws and 101 PTA meetings to attend.
If it’s mutual consent?
That’s a mighty big if…
He is romancing these women from outside his polygamist sect, or they are “arranged” marriages from within the sect?
Good for him.
At one time, government had established churches which suppressed all sorts of bizarre living arrangements.
Yes because polygamists never belong to churches or anything…
I wonder what finally convinced the government that it was time to act? This guy is fairly well known. He even has his own wikipedia page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winston_Blackmore
The first hit for him on google alleges to have a transcript of an interview with him where he says he discourages 15 year olds getting married http://childbrides.org/Canada_CBS_interview_of_winston_blackmore.html
If it was between adults I wouldn’t care but 15 isn’t an adult. And if it were seen as acceptable in these communities for one woman to have multiple husbands it would be a lot more palatable for me too. It would be some assurance that the women weren’t just seen as property.
I wonder if the birthrate in this sect is 25 girls for every boy born…hmmm? Maybe they have a monastery for the celibate ‘extra’ males for whom there are no wives available? Or perhaps they expose the baby boys to the elements at birth.
Had he lived in Utah he would even be ignored.
A few weeks ago everyone was fretting over declining birthrates, and soon the world would be consumed by Islam. Here’s a fellow thats trying to save the western world singlehanded, and you want to hang him. If he wants 25 wives and all those kids he can have them. Put him in jail and they will be on the welfare roll.
If he took advantage of minors, get him for that, but polygamy is fine by me. I don’t really care how many wives he has, or why he has them.
I can understand that people find it worth asking if he manipulated any of these girls or women, and sure, he might have. But really, since I find it very difficult to draw the line fairly, as do others, I think you are responsible your choices to marry someone, no matter the stupidity of the reason.
Is that Uma Thurman?
isnt it a sin of gluttony when you have too much of something?
no one has pointed out the irony that the biggest opponents of gay marriage are the Mormons.
Polygamy at one point WAS “traditional marriage”. And anyone who argues that monogamy etc. is “natural” or “traditional” is deluding themselves. Marital rape was also once considered a man’s right.
Wow, I wonder how many he can get in a pile?
In Islam they are limited to 4 Wives, but personally I think any man is crazy that has more than 1. If it is a relationship of mutual respect and trust, maybe a relationship of 2 wives is possible, but allot of rare understanding must be in place. Howevwe all that said, I still believe that the Government shuld stay out of it!! What is the difference of a man having multiple wives or multiple girlfriends and having children with them?. When he takes a wife at least he is standng up to be responsible for his actions. (sort of) We limit our selves by the morals of what others think. If a man can afford to have more tha 1 wife, so be it.. I dont believe it is any of my business, and I would expect the same in return. But somewhere a number of 25 is well beyond any sence of normalcy, these women were wifes in name only.. its not possible that he was able to treat all of them as a wife. 15 is a little young as most would agree, but thats a failrly modern idea too. Even Canada just changed the concent to 16 from 14 as the article states, a few years ago.. I guess most people are not trapping young beaver for a living any more up in Canada? So their Jealous?… 🙂
I guess he gets to have a mutltiple woman fantacy every night (or day). And I am sure he’s bored with it by now!!!
All woman are full of shit an eventually they find a way to give to you… poor man!!!
he smiled for the Camera… but maybe because he will get to go away soon!!!
Wish I had that much wives….it would have been so cool but then again, there are some rules which you should follow before you can marry more women…as Eideard put it, It my life! 🙂 let the bashing begin.
If he can manage this brood make him CEO of General Motors!
If they are happy, I’m happy.
People should mind their own businesses.
Other people don’t need our help to mess up their lives. They can do that on their own.
I’d say at a couple dozen wives and a century of kids, the man might welcome a nice peaceful prison sentence.
Had this size of a plural marriage existed then, Dante would have given us another circle to hell.
Christianity is a hell of a drug.
Andd he’ll get a reality TV show in 1,2,3…