Former Bountiful church leader found guilty in case of child bride
Posted May 17, 2019 11:13 am.
Last Updated May 17, 2019 2:02 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BOUNTIFUL (NEWS 1130) – The former leader of a fundamentalist sect that practises polygamy in Bountiful has been found guilty of removing an underage girl from Canada to be married south of the line.
James Oler has been found guilty of removing an underage girl from Canada to be married in the U.S.
The judge says it’s reasonable to believe Oler knew the 15-year-old would be subject to sexual activity when he arranged her marriage to an older member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which practises polygamy.
He was acquitted in 2017 by a judge who was not convinced Oler did anything within Canada’s borders to arrange the girl’s transfer to the U.S., but the B.C. Court of Appeal agreed with the Crown that proof of wrongdoing in Canada was not necessary and ordered a new trial.
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Joe Doyle, who was serving as a friend of the court to ensure a fair trial, argued that a four-day gap in the whereabouts of the 15-year-old girl is enough to dispute whether she was removed from Canada in 2004 or was already in the United States.
The special Crown prosecutor argued that Oler should have known the girl would be subject to sexual activity following her marriage based on the nature of church doctrine and the role of women in the faith.
Women do not have financial assets and need permission to travel or pursue post-secondary education, former church members told the court. They were taught that their role within the religion was to be a celestial wife in polygamous marriages and to bear children.
Oler represented himself.
