By Josh Hoffman/102.9 The Drive Cranbrook

Challenge of polygamy conviction underway in Cranbrook

Dec 13, 2017 | 8:44 AM

CRANBROOK. B.C. – The cross-examination of a man challenging his polygamy conviction is expected to continue in Cranbrook Wednesday, Dec. 13.

Winston Blackmore was found guilty in July for marrying 24 women over the past 25 years.

His lawyer Blair Suffredine is arguing Blackmore was unfairly prosecuted and believed his religious practices were protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights. Suffredine submits Blackmore was under that impression because the B.C. Attorney General failed to press charges when this process started in the early 1990s.

However, Special Crown Prosecutor Peter Wilson suggested Blackmore did know multiple marriages were illegal and instead decided to ignore laws in British Columbia and in the U.S.

Wilson argues Blackmore purposely didn’t try to secure proper marriage licenses from courts in Utah and B.C. because he knew the women he was marrying were considered underage by law.

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Blackmore agreed during his time on the stand to wedding some women as young as 15.

He told the courtroom he assumed no guilt entering multiple marriages from 1990 to 2004 because the province had all the evidence they needed to charge him for polygamy in 1991 after they executed a search warrant and seized marriage records from property in Erichson, B.C.

Blackmore argues they didn’t, though, so he thought he was safe.

James Oler, who was also found guilty for polygamy in July, is supporting the constitutional challenge.

Wilson’s cross-examination is expected to wrap up Thursday, Dec. 14 and the appeal hearing will come to a close sometime during the week.

The Crown plans to call two witnesses to the stand Thursday.