Canadian polygamist of the fundamentalist community 

Bountiful found guilty 

Winston Blackmore (right) has been found guilty of polygamy, here in a 

photo from 2008 with six of his daughters and some of his grandchildren

After marrying 25 women and fathering

over 145 children

• Winston Blackmore, 61, found guilty of polygamy, he's
•  facing five years in prison
• Since 1990, Blackmore has married 25 women and fathered 
• over 145 children
• He's part of the fundamentalist community of Bountiful
•  in British Columbia
• James Oler, 53, also of Bountiful is accused of
•  marrying five women 

A former religious leader in Canada has been found guilty of polygamy

 after marrying more than two dozen women over the course of 25 years.

Winston Blackmore, 61, was charged with practicing plural 

or 'celestial' marriage in the fundamentalist community of Bountiful,

 BC after he married 25 women. Blackmore has fathered more

than 145 children from his marriages. 

It was Winston's ex wife, Jane Blackmore, that

 brought him down. 

According to CBCNews Jane said in court Winston had told 

her he was 'only doing what God told him to do,' in

 having multiple wives.

Blackmore arrives at the BC Supreme Court in Cranbrook, 

British Columbia, Monday 

BC Supreme Court Justice Sheri Ann Donegan praised Jane 

as a highly credible and reliable witness.

'She was a careful witness,' Donegan said. 'There was nothing 

contrived or rehearsed in her answers. She was impartial.'

The trial last 12 days, but the case against Blackmore has 

been going on for decades.

In the early 1990s, Blackmore as well as accused polygamist

 James Oler, 53, were investigated by the provincial government.

 However, according to CBCNews, they were not prosecuted 

at the time because of confusion over Canadian polygamy laws.

Blackmore receives a kiss from one of his daughters

Blackmore, who is accused of having two dozen wives, smiles

 at a reporter's phone as he arrives at the BC Supreme Court Monday 

In 2011 the court ruled that banning polygamy was constitutional

 and did not violate religious freedoms. 

Oler meanwhile is currently waiting the verdict in his case. 

Oler has five wives, it's unknown how many children he has. 

Blackmore was accused of 'a kind of conjugal union' with 24

 women between 1990 and 2014, according to court documents.

Oler faced the same charge involving five women 

between 1993 and 2009.

The court ruled in 2011 that laws banning polygamy were 

constitutional and did not violate religious freedoms guaranteed

 in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  

Blackmore and Oler are members of the Fundamentalist

 Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a breakaway Mormon

 sect that believes in plural marriage. 

The group's main base is in a small community on the 

Utah-Arizona border in the United States.

Oler was chosen to lead the Canadian community just north

 of the US state of Idaho following Blackmore's excommunication

 from the sect in 2002 by Warren Jeffs, considered the

 prophet and leader of the group. 

Gail Blackmore, fellow Bountiful member (right) and James Oler

 arrive at the courthouse in Cranbrook, British Columbia. James

 is accused of marrying five women 

Authorities have said Jeffs still leads the sect from a Texas prison, 

where he is serving a life sentence for sexually assaulting

 underage girls he considered brides.

The mainstream Mormon church renounced polygamy in the 

late 19th century and disputes any connection to the 

fundamentalist group's form of Mormonism. 

Much of the evidence in the trial came from marriage and

 personal records seized by law enforcement at a church 

compound in Texas in 2008. 

Judge Donegan disagreed with assertions by Blackmore and 

his lawyer that the records should be given little or no weight, 

saying she found them reliable.

Donegan said Winston Blackmore's adherence to the practices 

and beliefs of the religious group were never in dispute, noting

 that he did not deny his marriages to police in 2009. 

Blackmore even made two corrections to a detailed list of his

 alleged wives, she said.

'He spoke openly about his practice of polygamy,' Donegan said.

 'Mr. Blackmore confirmed that all of his marriages were celestial

 marriages in accordance with FLDS rules and practices.'

Blackmore never denied having the wives as part of his 

religious beliefs that call for 'celestial' marriages. He's 

facing five years in prison. 

His lawyer Blair Suffredine has already said Blackmore would

 challenge the constitutionality of Canada's polygamy laws

 if his client was found guilty.