James Marion Oler (born 1964) is the bishop of the

Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (abbreviated to FLDS Church or FLDS) is a Mormon fundamentalist group whose members practice polygamy. It is variously defined as a cult, a sect or a new religious movement. The ...

(FLDS Church) in Canada and has been convicted of being a practicing

polygamist Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

. The polygamy case brought against Oler in 2009 was considered "the first major test of Canada's polygamy law." As of 2014, he is reported to have 13 children.

FLDS schism in Canada

James Oler is the current bishop of the Canadian FLDS, who are centered in Bountiful,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada. In 2002, Winston Blackmore was excommunicated from the FLDS, and the community of Bountiful, where most members live, divided between Blackmore and

Warren Jeffs Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955) is an American cult leader who is serving a life sentence in Texas for child sexual assault following two convictions in 2011. He is the president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter ...

. Following this schism, Jeffs appointed Oler as the new bishop.

Polygamy trial in Canada

Oler and Blackmore were arrested by the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

in January 2009 and charged with polygamy. The charges were later thrown out owing to questions about how the Crown selected its prosecutors. On 23 September 2009, criminal polygamy charges against Winston Blackmore and Oler are thrown out by B.C. Supreme Court Judge Sunni Stromberg-Stein. Polygamy charges were brought against Blackmore and Oler again in August 2014 without the procedural errors that caused the previous charges to have been thrown out of court. On 24 July 2017, James Oler was found guilty of polygamy in the B.C. Supreme Court. He, along with Winston Blackmore, face up to five years in prison for violation of Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada. On 15 May 2018, in

Cranbrook, British Columbia Cranbrook ( ) is a city in southeast British Columbia, Canada, located approximately 10 km southwest of the confluence of the Kootenay River and the St. Mary River (British Columbia), St. Mary's River. It is the largest urban centre in the region ...

, special prosecutor Peter Wilson recommended a jail sentence of one month to 90 days for Oler and a term between 90 days and six months for Blackmore. On 27 June 2018, Justice Sheri Ann Donegan sentenced Blackmore to six months' house arrest. Oler was sentenced to three months' house arrest. In May 2019, Oler was found guilty of taking a 15-year-old girl to the USA in 2004 to be married to an older man (a member of the FLDS Church), with Justice Martha Devlin saying there was "no room for doubt" that Oler knew the underage girl would be subject to sexual contact. In August 2019, Oler was sentenced to 12 months in jail and 18 months probation.

References

Canadian Latter Day Saints Canadian Christian religious leaders Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints members Mormon fundamentalist leaders American emigrants to Canada Living people 1964 births {{LDS-stub

FLDS schism in Canada

Polygamy trial in Canada

See also

References