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Mormon polygamist faces 20 years
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Tom Green holds the hand of his daughter Sierra inside the courtroom as she cries after the jury found her father guilty on all accounts of bigamy and criminal nonsupport in Provo, Utah, on Friday. Green, 52, was found guilty on four counts of bigamy and one count of criminal non-support for failing to provide financial support to nine of the children he fathered. Green, a fundamentalist Mormon, is married to five women, including two sets of sisters, and is believed to have already fathered as many as 29 children. Four of his wives are currently pregnant. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the convictions.
This trial opens deep wounds in Utah, settled in 1847 by Mormons who practiced polygamy. Many residents, including prosecutor David Leavitt and his brother, Governor Michael Leavitt, have polygamist family backgrounds.
Green gained notoriety after making the talk show circuit discussing his polygamist lifestyle.
Utah only became a state in 1886 after the Mormon Church officially banned polygamy. But an estimated 30,000 Utah residents, many of whom believe the Mormon Church changed its beliefs only out of political expediency -- still practice polygamy.SD-Agencies
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