The Canadian province of British Columbia is hunting for a new special prosecutor to pursue potential criminal charges against members of the polygamous community of Bountiful.

Vancouver lawyer Richard Peck has informed the province that he no longer desires to serve in that role, Attorney-General Shirley Bond said Monday in a statement.

“I made my decision on this case four-and-a-half years ago – the government decided to go in a different direction and I decided I wasn’t going to be involved any more,” Peck said on Monday.

Peck was appointed to review the file in 2007. In August of that year, Peck – mindful that criminal charges of polygamy were likely to be challenged on constitutional grounds of freedom of religion – concluded there should be no criminal charges and instead recommended a court reference to determine the constitutionality of Canada’s criminal code ban against polygamy.

In response, the province appointed two other special prosecutors, the first of whom echoed Peck’s recommendation and a third who in 2009 laid charges against Bountiful community leaders Winston Blackmore and James Oler.