B.C. attorney helped crack Warren Jeffs polygamy case

B.C. courts have been hardpressed in their attempt to win polygamy convictions in the Mormon commune of Bountiful, but one of the province’s Attorney Generals, Barry Penner, has taken credit in the prosecution of America’s foremost polygamist leader, Warren Jeffs. Penner says his office relayed information to American prosecutors prior to Jeffs’ life prison sentence—imposed on him by a Texas court on Tuesday after he was found guilty of sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Penner did not give details about the information he provided to the U.S. prosecutors, but in the wake of Jeffs’ conviction, the RCMP has launched a new investigation into Bountiful B.C. and Jeffs’ former commune in Texas. Authorities believe the two communities engaged in a cross-border child bride exchange.

CBC News