Police to investigate B.C. polygamous commune over abuse allegations
Last Updated: Friday, July 23, 2004 | 11:10 PM ET
CBC News
INDEPTH: The Bishop of Bountiful
The province's Attorney General Geoff Plant said, the government finally has enough information to launch a criminal probe which will look at accusations of child abuse, forcible marriage and sexual exploitation.
A social worker and a dedicated prosecutor will likely assist the police team.
Plant said it's been difficult to investigate Bountiful's religious leaders because of constitutional rights to freedom of religion, and the basic question of whether polygamy is even against the law in Canada.
What moved Plant to action was a confession from a former commune resident who claims she was victimized at the 47-year-old commune.
"That direct complaint allowed me to take a step beyond my traditional role, to raise the issue with my cabinet colleagues," said Plant.
Debbie Palmer, who at 15 was assigned to be the sixth Bountiful bride of a 55-year-old man, says the attorney general's announcement is overdue.
She claims underage girls have been trafficked across the border and impregnated by men in positions of power.
According to Canada's Criminal Code, sex with young brides constitutes statutory rape.
John Russell, vice president of the BC Civil Liberties Association says midwives admit to delivering babies to young girls no older than 13 years old. And in order to keep the female population higher than the male population, young men are often expelled from the commune.
Other complaints revolve around school curriculum. One mother told CBC News she pulled her six kids from the main Bountiful school because they were being taught that the white race was superior to others.
