Welfare-abusing Polygamist Gets Prison
NewsMax.com Wires
Saturday, Aug. 25, 2001
PROVO, Utah – A polygamist with five wives and 30 children was sentenced Friday to up to five years in prison on four counts of bigamy and one of criminal non-support.
Tom Green, 52, was also ordered in District Court to reimburse $78,000 to the state government for fraudulently obtained welfare assistance, the Deseret News reported.
"We are just all very sad that we live in a society where a man can be sent to prison for being a father," Green said before he was sentenced.
Polygamy was made illegal in Utah when it became a state in 1896. The territory's original settlers were mostly members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, who practiced polygamy.
Green, who gained notoriety by appearing on TV programs because of his polygamy, was convicted in May. He still faces trial on a charge of child rape, which stems from his 1986 marriage to Linda Kunz, who was 13 when she became pregnant by him.
Green's wives were in court Friday, and he kissed them and five of his children before being taken away by deputies.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International. All rights reserved.
A product that might interest you:
Shop NewsMax.com's store for the best deals on books, tapes, videos and more!
