Two men from the Mormon community of Bountiful near Creston have been found guilty of practicing polygamy.
Justice Sheri Ann Donegan delivered her verdict in a Cranbrook courtroom Monday.
She ruled that Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Winston Blackmore and James Oler deliberately married multiple women over a stretch of several decades.
Donegan said Blackmore made several indications in a conversation with RCMP in 2009 that he intended to enter into plural marriages and he did not deny to officers that he was a ploygamist.
Blackmore is said to have at least 24 wives.
In the case of Oler the judge pointed to comments he made to police in 2006 where he confirmed he had several wives as well.
Oler is said to have had five different wives between 2003 and 2005.
Blackmore and Oler are now expected to file a constitutional challenge.
Blackmore says he’s not surprised about the outcome of a legal case that has effectively been underway for decades.
Blackmore says he’s never denied his faith.
This report from Josh Hoffman with Drive Fm in Cranbrook.