TORONTO – A Canadian man is currently being prosecuted for polygamy charges for marrying as many as 27 women, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported.
Winston Blackmore, 59, is a resident of Salt Lake City and leads a polygamous Mormon fundamentalist group in Canada. He has 145 children from all of his wives collectively.
Mr Blackmore originally came to the limelight in 2007 when the Canadian officials first arrested him for violating country’s laws on polygamy. However, the charges were later dropped due to questions over the selection of the special prosecutor in his case.
In 2014, he was accused of the same crime and the court yet remains to decide a date for his formal trial.
Talking to the Tribune, Winston Blackmore claimed that his wives were officially his friends and that never courted any of his wives.
“We are friends and they have still charged us with polygamy,” he went on to say.
On the occasion, he also responded a question about the legalisation of polygamy in Canada saying: “I do not favour it as it will result in exploitation of women”.