Two of three people found guilty in child-bride case by a B.C. court
CRANBROOK, B.C. — Two people linked to the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., could have foreseen that their actions would lead to a girl having sex with the church’s prophet well before her 14th birthday, a B.C. Supreme Court judge said as he convicted the pair Friday.
Justice Paul Pearlman found estranged husband and wife Brandon Blackmore and Gail Blackmore guilty of the charge of taking a girl across the border for a sexual purpose in 2004.
He found James Oler not guilty of the same charge, saying the prosecution didn’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the man crossed the border with a 15-year-old girl who was later married to another member of the polygamous church. Oler was a one-time leader in Bountiful.
The Blackmores will be sentenced April 13.