heard." On May 16, 2006, Winston Blackmore's family invited the media to visit in response to a recent visit by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, indicating that they felt persecuted. Three of Blackmore's putative wives could face deportation, as they are U.S. citizens and would not be considered legally married to a Canadian. On June 6, 2007, the province of British Columbia announced the appointment of high-profile Vancouver criminal lawyer Richard Peck as a special prosecutor to review the results of a police investigation into possible polygamous activity or other offences by members of the community. On August 1, 2007, Peck concluded that there was not enough evidence to charge the group with sexual abuse or exploitation charges, as it had been extraordinarily difficult to find victims willing to testify, and the defendants were likely to claim "religious freedom" as a defence. Peck suggested that British Columbia ask the courts whether current polygamy laws, specifically section 293 of the Criminal Code, are constitutional. Peck said that it was time to find out whether Canada's polygamy laws would stand. He said, "If the law is upheld, members of the Bountiful community will have fair notice that their practice of polygamy must cease." The Supreme Court of British Columbia upheld Canada's polygamy laws in a 2011 reference case. In July 2017, two men from the FLDS community, Winston Blackmore and James Oler, were convicted of one count each of polygamy. Blackmore and Oler are the third and fourth people in Canada history to be convicted of polygamy. Blackmore was found to have married 24 women and fathered 149 children. In June 2018, both men were given house arrest as a result of their convictions. Blackmore received 6 months' house arrest followed by 18 months' probation, while Oler received 3 months' house arrest and 12 months' probation. In August, 2017, Brandon James Blackmore and Emily Ruth Gail Blackmore were convicted of removing an underage girl from Canada for marriage in the United States. They were sentenced to 12 months and seven months in jail, respectively, followed by probation of 18 months, for transporting a 13-year-old girl to the U.S. in 2004 for marriage to Warren Jeffs. James Oler was a third defendant in this case and was acquitted, which was successfully challenged by the Crown. In an August 2019 new trial, Oler was convicted of the same child removal charge and sentenced to