Fight Bigamy

Warrant Issued for KY Bigamist, Jeremiah Travis Scudder

A bench warrant was issued Monday for a 29-year-old Villa Hills, KY man after he failed to appear in court for his sentencing on a bigamy charge.

Jeremiah Travis Scudder, who was free on his own recognizance, had previously pleaded guilty in Kenton Circuit Court to the felony that is punishable by one year to five years in prison.

In May, Scudder told an Enquirer reporter that he was in the process of filing for divorce from his first wife. Scudder said at the time that it was "childish and stupid" not to get the divorce and he regretted the trouble it has caused.

Authorities got suspicious after Scudder told his probation officer that he had been married twice but the official couldn't find a record of him ever getting a divorce in Kentucky, according to the criminal complaint.

He married Constance Holden nine years ago in Campbell County and Teri Mae Hutchinson August 2008 in Kenton County, according to court records. Scudder's first wife, with whom he has a son, told investigators that they separated about a year ago and never divorced.

Scudder is described as white, 6-feet-1, 150 pounds, with green eyes and brown hair.

It is the second bigamy case that has been prosecuted in Kenton County in recent times.

The first was in 1999 when Barbara Moore was convicted for being married to three men at once. Her first husband tipped police, and they arrested Moore right after her third wedding.

Her three-year sentence was conditionally discharged if she completed several requirements, including divorcing her first two husbands, according to a court clerk. Similar to parole, conditional discharge requires offenders to comply with certain provisions in exchange for not serving time in prison.

Moore never got the divorces and is wanted by authorities.

By Jim Hannah of Cincinnati.com

Serial Bigamist, Charles "Ed" Hicks Gets Another Year

Serial bigamist, online predator, Charles Edward 'Ed' Hicks received a four-year sentence with three years suspended from the Honorable John W. Brown for violating his parole according to Derek Wagner, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney for the City of Chesapeake, VA. Hicks is also known as the Dr. Phil Bigamist.

Hicks told the Court that he had been unable to contact his parole officer because he had a stroke and somehow got to Florida where he was living on a boat. He also told the Court he had a bachelor's degree in engineering from Cal Poly and a Master's Degree from the University of Washington, his attendance at both schools is fabricated.! Hicks went on to say that a TV documentary had been done about him and ruined his 'good name'!

Hicks had been writing and seeing several women he met on online dating sites for over a year. He was well enough to travel the state of Florida, ride a bike ten miles a day, and climb the 30' mast of the sailboat where he was living.

Hicks was arrested last month in Key Largo, Florida on a warrant from Virginia for violating his parole.

Ladies....this man is an on-line predator. When he gets out of jail, he will start doing the same thing again. If you are going to pursue online dating, at a minimum Google the person's name. Check out these sites: Exposing Online Predators and Cyberpaths and Lovefraud.com.

For more information, see the article in the Virginian-Pilot. More news articles will be posted as they arrive.

Woman Talks About Being Married to Bigamist, Charles Clemens

Jayme Wear married a charming man last year and they lived a good life at their Overland Park apartment. Until she discovered him with another woman — in another apartment at the same complex. The two women discovered they were both married to him.

On Tuesday, Charles L. Clemens, 62, pleaded guilty to bigamy in Johnson County District Court. He is scheduled for sentencing in December. Clemens and his other wife could not be reached for comment and his lawyer declined to comment.

Clemens had been married to his first wife for more than 20 years when he met and married Wear. On Tuesday, Wear, 57, went public with her story for the first time: Clemens told her he was a retired police officer who worked all over the country reconstructing accident scenes.

“He was a charming guy,” said Wear, who got an annulment in January. “I loved the guy, my parents adored him — they thought he was great.”

Through most of their relationship, “he paid the rent, he paid for the groceries, he bought me things.”

He was colorful and always wore cowboy boots, she said. “He told me he was from Texas and spoke with a Texas accent that I found out later he doesn’t have — he was really from Des Moines.”

He said he had divorced long ago but then Wear saw him in November in an apartment with another woman and the two women had a talk.

Wear said of the other wife, “she wasn’t as upset as I would have been if I’d have been her. The other wife said something like, “It’s always something with him,” Wear said. Police say there is no evidence either wife knew about the other.

“I think he had days reserved for me and days he spent with her,” Wear said.

Their apartments were in two different buildings at the complex on the 6700 block of West 140th Street, but he could see one apartment from the other, she said. Wear still wonders where Clemens got the money he spent on her, and about other things.

“There are still lots of unanswered questions that drive me crazy,” she said.

By Joe Lambe of The Kansas City Star

Washington State Man, Henry Paul Berry, Charged with Bigamy

Prosecutors on Monday charged a 70-year-old Mukilteo, WA man with bigamy after investigators alleged they found a marriage certificate between him and a 44-year-old medical aide who he met at the adult family home where his wife was living.

Henry Paul Berry filed a marriage certificate last fall, indicating that he and Dominque Uy were married Sept. 24, 2008, court papers said. Berry wrote on the marriage application that he was a widower.

But Berry's wife is alive, and suffering from the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, according to investigators. She lives in an Everett nursing home, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tammy Bayard wrote in court papers. The couple have been married for more than 40 years, the woman's family told authorities.

Snohomish County sheriff's detectives first met Berry while they were investigating allegations against Uy.

She is accused of sexually assaulting a patient at a Marysville adult family home. The patient, who suffers from Huntington's disease, a neurological disorder, told investigators Uy forced herself on him. She denied the allegations. Berry told detectives he didn't believe Uy raped the man. He said he was planning to marry her because his wife had “passed on.”

Investigators later heard from the ill woman's sister. She was concerned that Berry was lying and stealing from his wife.Police found Berry's wife in a nursing home.The woman's nurse told detectives Berry had visited many times and referred to the woman as “my wife,” court papers said. Berry had last visited on Aug. 24, the nurse told police.

Detectives interviewed Berry who initially said he had divorced his wife. Later he admitted that he wasn't divorced. He denied telling the detective that his wife was dead. Berry said he told the detective that his wife had “passed on,” meaning she wasn't the same woman he had married, court papers said. He allegedly told investigators he didn't divorce his wife because it was too costly, Bayard wrote.

Investigators later spoke with Berry's son. He told them that his father asked him to marry Uy, who is originally from the Philippines and has been living in the United States illegally. Berry's son refused to marry the woman. He said his father then told him that he'd divorced his wife, the man's mother, and was going to marry Uy. Berry's son said he first learned that his parents weren't divorced when he read a story about the allegations against Berry in The Herald.

By Diana Hefley of The Herald

Parole Revocation Hearing Set for Charles Edward "Ed" Hicks

A parole revocation hearing has been set for Charles Hicks, serial bigamist, Internet predator, and in this writer's opinion, a sociopath.

The hearing is set for October 26, 2009 in the Chesapeake, VA Circuit Court.

Hicks did not report for parole in July 2008 and has been on the lam since. On September 16, 2009 he was arrested in Key Largo, Florida and later extradited back to Chesapeake, VA. This is the third time Hicks has been extradited to Chesapeake.

It is reported that he was seeing at least three Florida women all the while lying about property he does not actually own in the Bahamas. 

Hicks could get the remaining four years of his suspended sentence. If you are a victim of this man, send email to cehsupportgroup@gmail.com.

John Melchiorre, Jr. Sentenced After Lying About His Former MArriage

A Springfield, PA man will serve probation on charges he made false statements to officials regarding prior marriages when he applied for a license to marry an Ambler woman.

John A. Melchiorre Jr., 39, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to one year of probation after he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of unsworn falsification to authorities in connection with a July 2008 incident.

Judge William J. Furber Jr., who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Melchiorre to complete 12 hours of community service as a condition of probation.

Other charges of bigamy and false swearing in an official proceeding were dismissed against Melchiorre as part of the plea agreement.

"He pleaded guilty to lying on his application for a wedding license. He indicated that he had no previous marriages when in fact his divorce had not gone through yet with his ex-wife," alleged Assistant District Attorney James Zoll, adding that even if Melchiorre didn't know that his divorce hadn't been finalized he still lied about his previous marriage. "Lying on the document is a crime."

Authorities originally alleged that Melchiorre committed bigamy by getting married to a woman in Ambler while still married to a North Carolina woman.

An investigation of Melchiorre began in August 2008 when a North Carolina woman notified county detectives with the bigamy allegations. The woman told detectives she married Melchiorre in August 1994 in North Carolina and that Melchiorre moved from their marital residence in June 2008.

The North Carolina woman told authorities she had recently learned that Melchiorre married again in Montgomery County while he was still married to her.

By Carl Hessler, Jr. of The Reporter Online

Bride Sues Michigan Businessman for Bigamy

One Saturday in June 2002, Eugene Pallisco and his new bride, Lesley Keith, celebrated their $35,000 wedding and reception at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn.

The bride sported her 2-carat diamond ring. One hundred guests dined on crab cakes rémoulade, wild mushroom tartlets and $40 bottles of French merlot. They danced.

Not in attendance: Pallisco’s other wife and their four children.

Seven years later, Keith, 37, who now lives in Arizona, is seeking an annulment and money from Pallisco, 44, of West Bloomfield. She is charging that he is a bigamist who kept his 15-year marriage with his other wife a secret from her.

Pallisco, who is in the scrap metal and real estate business, admits that he was married to Marie Ann Hallman, who was born in August 1970 and is of West Bloomfield, at the time of his wedding to Keith. But he said the latter union was never official because the marriage license was never filed with the county after the ceremony.

Oakland County Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews has set a Sept. 1 trial date in the case.

Pallisco tried to get the court file sealed earlier this month, saying the allegations were "scandalous" and would ruin his reputation. The file includes the then-happy couple's wedding pictures taken at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn, where the wedding was celebrated.

Matthews denied his motion, saying dryly, "The rice is still on the wedding photos."

He says, she says

Pallisco is a well-to-do businessman who was living a double life, said Keith's attorney, Norman Lippitt. "He told her from the beginning he was divorced," Lippitt said. "She had no reason to doubt him. This was a bigamist's marriage."

Pallisco has several explanations, according to the court files. In addition to his contention that "it's not legal because the marriage license was not filed," he also argues in a separate lawsuit in Oakland County that an "unknown woman" -- Keith, the woman he exchanged vows with in the photos -- applied for a marriage license without his knowledge in 2002 and is "impugning him regarding his marital status."

In that suit, Judge Rae Lee Chabot, unaware of the Ritz-Carlton wedding, ruled the marriage application invalid.

Another explanation offered by Pallisco's attorney, Robert Sheehan, is that Pallisco is the victim of a bizarre extortion that began in 2000 when a Detroit police officer tried to "shake down" Pallisco's scrap and recycling business. Sheehan said Pallisco knew Keith casually, and when she learned of his problems with the police, told him she and her family had connections with the Police Department. If they had a "pretend" marriage, Sheehan said, then Pallisco, too, would be "family" and the shakedowns would end.

"The wedding was a sham, and she knew it," Sheehan said. "And despite my client's better judgment, he agreed to it."

What about the diamond ring and the $35,000 wedding?

Problems from the Start

"Yes," Sheehan said. "There was an event. And a ring. I'm sure you've seen the pictures."

However it ends, the marriage was far from a match made in heaven, according to court documents.

Pallisco met Keith in June 1997 at Picano's restaurant in Troy, where she worked as a bartender and waitress. In February of the following year, Keith said Pallisco told her he was divorced and asked her out for dinner, according to court filings.

In the course of their courtship, she said, he never took her to his home -- something she found odd. But by 1998, he was supporting her, she said in her court filings. Pallisco, according to the suit, took her and her family members on trips to Las Vegas and Chicago, and showered her with gifts.

Four days before the 2002 wedding, Keith applied for a marriage license at the Oakland County Clerk's Office, listing Pallisco as the groom. The night before the wedding, Keith said in her suit, Pallisco wanted to cancel it, but he went ahead with it. They fought and argued on their wedding night, the suit said, and Pallisco left.

Within days of the wedding, the couple moved to Las Vegas and eventually to Arizona, but Pallisco was gone for weeks at a time, missing holidays and telling Keith he had out-of-state business, she said in her complaint. Keith alleged she repeatedly asked him for a copy of the marriage license so that she could open bank accounts in their names, but he never produced one.

Pallisco's attorney denied those allegations and said the two never lived together. And any money Keith got was a loan from Pallisco, Sheehan said. Pallisco has filed a suit in Arizona, asking for the money back.

Keith eventually called the Oakland County Clerk's Office and learned that the marriage license had never been filed by the minister who oversaw the ceremony. In a sworn affidavit to the court, the minister, Robert Zaloga, said he does not know why he failed to file the license, but that he specifically recalls marrying the couple, who wanted the ceremony to have a "Catholic tone."

"I specifically recall having a casual conversation with Eugene and the best man before the ceremony, including the fact that he was moving to Las Vegas," Zaloga said.

By L.L. Brasier of the Detriot Free Press

Police Officer Accused of Bigamy in Tennessee

He took an oath to be both a husband and a police officer. Some said the mid-state man was serving and protecting his own interests. 

A jilted and embarrassed wife said she wanted her husband prosecuted for the crime.

"I fell head over heels with him, and I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with this man," said wife number two.

It was supposed to be the perfect wedding and Jason Kenney the perfect husband.

"He sold me a bill of sales. He conned me and he conned my parents," said wife number two.

She thought she was the only one with Kenney. In fact, there is a marriage certificate from Alabama. Then she discovered another marriage certificate one from Tennessee with a different woman, a second wife.

"I was devastated, crushed, shocked," said wife number two.

The accused husband was a police officer and someone who was supposed to uphold the law.

"If your married to two at the same time in the state of Tennessee - that's a charge of bigamy," said Kyle Evans, Murfreesboro Police Department. When Murfreesboro police learned of the situation they immediately opened an internal investigation and found yet another strange twist.

Police said Kenney, a then-member of the Army National Guard, falsified military orders this past June to get time off for training. In actuality they said he took a trip to Las Vegas. "While in Las Vegas it was our understanding he was attempting to get married to what would have been a third woman," said Evans.

They said they tracked down the bride-to-be in Vegas using cell phone records and told her about Kenney. There was a message exchange on Facebook between the bride-to-be and the two wives.

"I'm stuck in Vegas with a wedding dress - turns out the groom has two wives already," said bride-to-be. "I'm glad we saved you, I'm so sorry," said wife number one. Okay, I got to control my temper. I'm glad I was saved. Thank you," said bride-to-be. "We don't want to tread on your feelings," said wife number two.

"I'm not part of this anymore. His stuff is being taken out of my apartment as I type. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you both," said bride-to-be.

NewsChannel 5 did try to contact Jason Kenney for comment but had no success.

At this time, he is not charged with any crime, but one wife did file a complaint with the Metro police department. Also, Kenney is no longer a police officer. He resigned not long after Murfreesboro police opened their internal investigation.

Kenney does have two sons from a prior marriage to another woman he did legally divorce, and two daughters from one of the two women he is still currently married to.

Both wives said they are seeking divorces and one said she would like to see Kenney prosecuted for bigamy.

From NewsChannel5.com

FL Woman Arrested for Bigamy

Pamela Long Wiggins, 47, has been arrested again in Escambia County, FL — this time on bigamy charges for being married to two men at the same time.

NorthEscambia.com first reported July 16 that court records obtained by NorthEscambia.com indicated that Wiggins appeared to be married to two men.

Wiggins, who is charged as an accessory after the fact in connection with the murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings, was married in December 31, 2008, to Hugh Gregory Wiggins, 48, by a court clerk in Shalimar, Florida. That marriage license, as first reported by NorthEscambia.com on July 16, was witnessed by murder suspect Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Jr. and his wife Tabitha C. Gonzalez.

But court records in Escambia County indicate that her divorce from her previous husband is not complete.

Under the name Pamela Long Malden, she filed for divorce from James Colburn Malden, 68, on January 29, 2008.  Escambia County court records indicate that the case is still open.

Wiggins was out on $10,000 bond after she was charge as an accessory after the fact in connection to the July 19 deaths of Byrd and Melanie Billings.

From NorthEscambia.com

Michigan Man Could be Charged with Bigamy

Milford police are awaiting word from the Oakland County, Michigan's Prosecutor’s Office on whether or not charges will be filed against a Milford man who recently got married in Las Vegas while he was still married to someone else.

The 48-year-old man could face a charge of bigamy, which is a felony.

The man’s first wife, 41, contacted police May 27 after finding out her husband married a 22-year-old Toronto woman on April 22 at the Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas strip. The first wife didn’t serve him with divorce papers until May 20.

Milford police investigators said the Michigan Department of Community Health confirmed on June 10 that there was no record of divorce on file for the man and his first wife.

According to reports, the first wife said her husband admitted to dating the 22-year-old last November, but she had tried to save the marriage for the sake of their daughter.

Her husband left unexpectedly after attending church with her and their daughter on April 19, then telephoned her the next day, distraught and asking for money. She reportedly transferred several thousands of dollars into his checking account, and when he returned home April 24, she drove to the airport to pay his parking fee because he hadn’t been able to.

She learned about the Las Vegas wedding after receiving in the mail documentation from the state of Nevada and payment requests for sending court paperwork overnight.

The man reportedly said he was drunk when he married the 22-year-old and that she had filled out the paperwork. He said he thought the wedding had been a joke, police said, and was trying to get an annulment. The cost of the ceremony was reportedly $129.

The marriage certificate stated the man was widowed in January 2007, police said.

Police asked the man how he could blame the wedding on his being drunk, when he had purchased wedding rings two days prior. The man then asked for an attorney, police said.

Police have been unable to contact the 22-year-old wife.

From HometownLife.com by Aileen Wingblad

Man Allegedly Commits Bigamy in Ohio Ordered to Jail by a Florida Judge

A man accused of coming to Ohio to commit bigamy was ordered jailed by a Florida judge Tuesday. Victor Thomas Clavizzao surrendered to the United States Marshall Tuesday morning, and was ordered to be detained pending a 60-month sentence.

Clavizzao was convicted of mortgage fraud and was to begin his sentence on July 14. He is accused of fleeing to Lisbon, OH (a bigamy misdemeanor state) and marrying Jacqueline Dean without divorcing his previous wife in Florida (a felony bigamy state).

In light of the violation, the court ordered him detained and granted the government's motion to revoke order of release pending execution of his sentence.

From WFMJ.com

Florida Man May Have One Wife Too Many--a Registered Sex Offender

A Florida couple married in Lisbon on June 11 after securing a license may not be legally wed since officials now think the groom has one wife too many.

Marilyn Smith, chief deputy clerk of Columbiana County Probate Court, said a request was filed with the prosecutor's office Wednesday asking for an investigation for possible charges against Victor T. Clavizzao, who claimed he was never married when he filed for a marriage license with Jacqueline A. Dean.

On Tuesday, court personnel received a call from a newspaper reporter in Florida who told them he's in the midst of a divorce from his fourth wife and had other wives in his past. She also told them he's on his way to federal prison after being sentenced to five years for mortgage fraud and that he wasn't supposed to leave the state of Florida.

As for his bride, they were told she also had a past as a registered sex offender who served time in prison after she and her ex-husband, Willie Tarpley, tortured a young woman in 1987.

When the St. Petersburg couple applied for their marriage license, Dean listed that she was divorced once and clerks confirmed the information with Florida officials, with Willie Tarpley listed as her ex-husband. The 45-year-old woman listed her occupation as marketing and sales while Clavizzao, 46, listed his occupation as finance.

They were married by Judge Carol Ann Robb of Columbiana County Municipal Court.

According to Smith, Dean did nothing wrong, but Clavizzao lied about never being married. The official Web site for Pinellas County in Florida lists a case filed on April 20, 2009 by Clavizzao for a dissolution from Angel M.Clavizzao. The case file only showed that the case was filed and didn't say whether the case was finished or whether a dissolution was granted.

Smith said that's something the prosecutor's office will have to determine. If he's still married, a charge of bigamy could be possible, she said, but it will be up to the prosecutor's office how to handle the situation.

John Gamble, chief assistant prosecutor, said an investigator with the department was already reviewing the material forwarded by Probate Court. Possible charges for lying on the marriage license application could include perjury or falsification.

"We'll take whatever steps are appropriate," he said.

By Mary Ann Greier of SalemNews.net

Police Searching for Michigan Woman Suspected of Bigamy

St. Clair Shores, Michigan police have a felony arrest warrant for a suspected bigamist from Bay City.

Investigators say Martha A. Flemming, also known as Martha A. Nellett, may have returned to Bay County after disappearing in April from the Detroit home she shared with Albert Flemming Jr..

Also missing were Albert Flemming's car and an $8,000 inheritance check he received from an uncle and stored in a safety deposit box at a Harper Woods bank, said St. Clair Shores Detective Sgt. Margaret Eidt.

Albert Flemming reported the missing check to Harper Woods police who would not comment because, they said, the investigation remains open.

Police found Albert Flemming's car in Bay County soon after Martha Flemming disappeared, Eidt said.

Martha and Albert Flemming married Jan. 30 although records show Martha Flemming still was married to Charles Nellett, the Bay County man she wed in 1995, Eidt said.

She also may have children who live in the Bay City area, the sergeant said. She did not know the names of the children.

Police describe Martha Flemming as a heavy, dark-haired 44-year-old woman of Caucasian and American Indian background.

She was previously known as Martha A. Smith and Martha A. Chatfield, Eidt said.

By LaNia Coleman of The Bay City Times

Indiana Man to Do Three Years in Prison for Bigamy

John Bragg, who romanced several women at the same time, will do time as part of plea deal.

An Indiana man who made a habit of romancing multiple women in order to steal their money received a three-year prison sentence this week.

John Bragg, who has also gone by alias Sam Blair, pleaded guilty to bigamy and fraud as part of a plea agreement with the Hancock County prosecutor’s office. The felony charges resulted Wednesday in a six-year sentence, half of which was suspended, to an Indiana Department of Correction facility.

From the Greenfield Daily Reporter

Florida Man Charged With Bigamy

A Sebring, FL man was released from jail Wednesday on a $17,500 bond following his arrest Tuesday on a Broward County warrant charging him with bigamy. Konstantinos Vassilakopolous, 47, of 5616 Granada Blvd., Sebring, allegedly married a woman in Broward County in Sept. 29, 2008, while still being married to his first wife, according to the arrest affidavit.

The suspect and his first wife were reportedly married in Queens, N.Y., on May 22, 1986, and confirmed by a New York City marriage certificate. Sworn statements from both Vassilakopolous and his wife revealed they were not divorced, the affidavit stated. Vassilakopolous also stated he did marry his second wife in September, and sworn statements from her corroborated his story.

By Brad Dickerson of TampaBayOnline

Bigamy Charge Reduced to Disorderly Conduct in Florida

Marvin Frazer married a woman named Rebecca in New York in 2000. She left him three years later.

"She said she was going on vacation for a week. It's been a very long week," Frazer, 45, said Tuesday.

He heard from her again in 2006, he said, in an e-mail suggesting he should pay for half of their divorce. He later heard from his parents that she told them the divorce was final.

Turns out, Frazer should have double checked.

In July 2007, at First Presbyterian Church in Zephyrhills, he married a woman named Ilene. (This was his third marriage. There was another in 1992 that lasted until 1998.) Then last fall, Frazer got a knock on his door from two Zephyrhills police detectives investigating an allegation of bigamy.

Rebecca — whom Frazer met in an Internet chat room — had found his MySpace page where pictures from his 2007 wedding were posted. She called the authorities.

Frazer, a preschool worker, was arrested shortly before Christmas and spent four days in jail.

In court Tuesday, he pleaded no contest to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct. Bigamy, the law says, is having a living spouse and marrying another. Disorderly conduct is defined as acts that are "of a nature to corrupt the public morals, or outrage the sense of public decency, or affect the peace and quiet of persons who may witness them."

Bigamy is a felony. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor.

Frazer was sentenced to time served.

He answered Judge Pat Siracusa's questions politely and said little else.

"You're down to one wife," the judge told him, noting the divorce had gone through. "That's good."

It was a contrast to his last court appearance, when Frazer mouthed off a little about how long the case was taking. But prosecutors only agreed to the plea deal on the condition that Frazer obtain and finalize a divorce from Rebecca.

A judge signed it last week.

"Unfortunately, she got her way," Frazer said. He paid for the whole thing: $583.

His current wife, he said, has stuck by him through the ordeal.

Later this summer they plan to renew their vows.

By Molly Moorehead of The St. Petersburg Times.

Washington State Woman Charged With Bigamy

Kitsap County, WA prosecutors have charged a woman with felony bigamy for allegedly being married to men in Kingston and Illinois, according to documents filed in Kitsap County Superior Court.

Chunbo Shen, 39, was charged Friday and made her first court appearance Tuesday. She was arrested Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport by Port of Seattle officers and booked into the Kitsap County jail Monday, according to Kitsap County Sheriff's spokesman Scott Wilson.

The case began when a 76-year-old Kingston man reported a burglary at his home in late 2007. Gone were his current and expired passports, military identification, his marriage license to Shen, will, birth certificate and some family photos, sheriff's detectives said.

But deputies didn't hear more about the case until May 5, when the Kingston man told them he had learned that his wife, Shen, "had the documents all along," detectives wrote in court documents.

The Kingston man told detectives he met Shen through a Web site and the two were married in Hawaii in 2004. She would stay with the man in Kingston for short times, the 76-year-old said, before disappearing. She told him she was delivering medical lectures in China. Her husband provided her with money for travel and living expenses, detectives said.

But when he looked up the area code on the phone number she provided him, he learned it was from Illinois.

In early May, the man told detectives he had found joint tax returns from Shen and another man in Illinois on his home computer, detectives said.

Shen remains in the Kitsap County jail on $100,000 bail.

From the Kitsap Sun.

Canadian, Gordon Howard Krell, Given a Mere $1200 Fine for Bigamy

An Edmonton man who admitted he was married to a city woman for a decade despite already being married to another woman was fined $1,200 yesterday.

And that has the two angry and upset women feeling like they were just given another "slap in the face."

Both Sheila Westwong and Lucie Brunet said outside court they were extremely "disappointed" with the fine and felt their so-called husband should have been punished a whole lot more for what he has put them through.

"I mean, $1,200 for the 10 years and all the emotional and financial abuse," said Westwong. "It is pretty much a slap in the face."

Brunet agreed. "It's just not good enough," she said.

Gordon Howard Krell, 49, pleaded guilty to one count of bigamy and one count of careless storage of a firearm.

Crown prosecutor John Kennedy told provincial court police were called to a north Edmonton home in 2007 when Westwong reported her husband had left a rifle wrapped in a blanket in a closet.

When the officer arrived, he was told by Westwong that Krell, her husband of 10 years, had not been divorced from his second wife when he married her in 1999.

Court heard the two women had met and discovered the truth about the man they were both still married to.

Kennedy said Krell is a legitimate bigamist, but noted he was not trying to live two married lives at the same time.

"He wasn't ducking from House A to House B trying to conduct two marriages simultaneously," said Kennedy, adding that while in the 1950s a person could get prison time for bigamy, recent cases typically end up with fines.

Defence lawyer Jeffrey Klassen told court Krell is remorseful over what he did and handed Westwong $200 cash to pay for her costs to get an annulment.

"He admits he did this to the two women and he is not proud of it," said Klassen.

Judge Elizabeth Johnson said the proposed fine wasn't something that "leaps to mind" as a sentence, but ruled it was not inappropriate under the circumstances.

"This is certainly not a case of deception where he is running from one household to another," said Johnson. "Nevertheless, it is still a criminal offence."

In a victim impact statement, Westwong wrote she is now "almost scared of loving someone wholeheartedly."

Outside court, Westwong, 45, said she and Krell were married in a legal ceremony near Wabamun on July 3, 1999.

On March 14, 2007, she returned home to find him gone and his wedding ring left on a dresser. She ended up calling his sister and discovering he was already married to Brunet, whom she met a couple of days later.

Westwong said she was "totally devastated" when she learned her husband of a decade was already married.

"It shattered my whole world," she said. "For 10 years I've been living a lie. He stole that from me and I'll never get it back. How could someone do that to another person?"

By Tony Blais of The Edmonton Sun

MO Man Says PTSD Caused Him to Forget His Marriage

A Missouri woman whose husband was cleared of bigamy said she does not believe his claim that post-traumatic stress disorder made him forget his marriage.

Marcella Rivera of Independence said her husband, William, left her and their five children before serving in the Iraq war but they discussed reconciling after he returned from serving and their divorce case was dismissed, KCTV, Kansas City, Mo., reported Thursday.

Rivera said she was shocked when her husband appeared in a 2008 Valentine's Day TV special that featured his marriage to another woman.

Criminal bigamy charges were filed against William Rivera, but Marcella Rivera said she discovered Friday they were dismissed after his lawyer argued the defendant suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. The lawyer said the condition caused his client to forget he was still married to his first wife.

"I guess if I truly believe in my heart that he didn't know, then OK, yes, he has PTSD and he didn't know. Iraq totally messed him up. But I know he knew he was married because we had discussed it," she said. "There are real soldiers suffering from PTSD and he's using that as a crutch."

Claude Guidry of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center said memory loss is one of the major symptoms of PTSD.

William Rivera is currently legally married to both women.

"That's what gets me, that he got over on the system. And I don't think that's right," Marcella Rivera said.

From United Press International; also see KCTV-5

KY Man Charged With Bigamy

A 29-year-old Villa Hills man has been charged with bigamy for allegedly not getting a divorce or waiting for the until-death-do-us-part part before re-marrying. Jeremiah Travis Scudder, who is free on his own recognizance, had his initial appearance in Kenton District Court Friday. Bigamy is a felony punishable by one year to five years in prison.

From his home where he lives with his second wife, Scudder said Friday afternoon that he was in the process of filing for divorce from his first wife. He said he hopes that will allow authorities to dismiss the bigamy charge at his May 7 preliminary hearing. “To be totally honest, I didn’t know bigamy laws were still on the books,” Scudder said.

Authorities got suspicious after Scudder told his probation officer that he had been married twice but the official couldn’t find a record of him ever getting a divorce in Kentucky, according to the criminal complaint.

He married Constance Holden nine years ago in Campbell County and Teri Mae Hutchinson Aug. 20 in Kenton County, according to court records.

Scudder’s first wife, whom he has a son with, told investigators that they separated in May and never divorced.

Scudder said it was “childish and stupid” not to get the divorce and he regrets the trouble it has caused.

Kenton Commonwealth’s Attorney Rob Sanders said it might not sound like the “crime of the century,” but bigamy involves a lot of hassle with everyone involved when it comes to things like filing taxes, trying to buy or sell property and obtaining credit.

“It is akin to identity theft in the complications it causes in one’s financial affairs,” he said.

It is only the second bigamy case Sanders remembers in Kenton County. The first was in 1999 when Barbara Moore was convicted for being married to three men at once. Her first husband tipped police, and they arrested Moore right after her third wedding. Her three-year sentence was conditionally discharged if she completed several requirements, including divorcing her first two husbands, according to a court clerk.

Similar to parole, conditional discharge requires offenders to comply with certain provisions in exchange for not serving time in prison.

Moore never got the divorces and is currently wanted by authorities.

By Jim Hannah of Cincinnati.com

James Boatwright Charged With Bigamy in Wisconsin

A Marshfield, WI man charged with being married to more than one woman at a time is scheduled in court this morning. James Boatwright is expected to appear in Clark County for a pre-trial conference.

The 31-year-old is facing a bigamy charge, which carries a maximum penalty of one and a half years in prison. Authorities say he was married to a woman named Elizabeth in Loyal in 2005, while he already a wife in Missouri.

Court records show Boatwright didn't divorce his first wife until December 2007.

From WSAW.com

Accused CA Bigamist Pleads Not Guilty

A man in prison for stealing $147,000 from his Costa Mesa employer pleaded not guilty today to bigamy and theft charges for allegedly taking a second wife and looting assets of both women, using some of the money to repay the embezzled funds.

Craig Stevens, 49, formerly of Rancho Santa Margarita, entered his plea before Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Vickie Hix, who set a pretrial hearing date of April 7.

Stevens was brought to Orange County from Soledad prison, where he is still serving his 16-month term in the embezzlement case. He is ineligible for bail, said Farrah Emami of the Orange County District Attorney's Office.    

Deputy Public Defender Stephen Daniels could not be reached for immediate comment.  

Stevens allegedly stole a combined $194,000 from the two women.

Stevens' first wife, to whom he was married for about 10 years, has been identified publicly only as Ann S. They have two middle school-aged children, said Deputy District Attorney Jan Christie.

The defendant persuaded that wife to turn over her property inheritance to pay the $147,000 restitution to his former employer, tennis-apparel distributor Balle de Match, for money that he embezzled between December 2006 and June 2007, Christie said.

Stevens pleaded guilty in the embezzlement case last October. His sentence also included time for an unrelated stalking case, the prosecutor said.

After leaving his Costa Mesa employer, Stephens worked as a consultant for a time in Rhode Island while commuting back to his Rancho Santa Margarita home, Christie said.

He met Illinois resident Elizabeth D., possibly online, and the two married on Aug. 4, 2007, according to the prosecution. Ann S. and Elizabeth D. knew nothing of each other, Emami said.

Elizabeth D. expected the two to live in Illinois when Stevens sold his California home, Christie said.

Stevens allegedly got $47,000 from the second woman by claiming he needed to money to pay for his daughter's college tuition, although he does not have a college-age child, Emami said.

Charges stemming from his alleged actions with Ann S. include grand theft by pretense, stemming from her belief that he was a loyal husband and that she would not have given him the money had she known he was married to another woman.

Stevens pleaded not guilty to one count each of bigamy, rape by belief the perpetrator is a spouse, grant theft by false pretense and grand theft.

He also faces sentencing enhancements of aggravated white collar crime and financial loss of more than $200,000, and could be sentenced to 11 years and four months in prison if convicted, Emami said.

Stevens was almost finished serving his original term when the new charges were brought, Christie said.

From KTLA.com

Washington State Woman Gets 15 Days in Jail for Bigamy

A 32-year-old East Wenatchee, WA woman has entered an Alford plea to a charge of bigamy. Lorena R. Juarez, also known as Lorena Williams, was sentenced to 15 days in jail Wednesday in Chelan County Superior Court.

Bigamy is having more than one spouse. An Alford plea means she does not admit guilt, but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction. Ten days may be served on work release or electronic home monitoring. She must also pay $800 in fines and fees.

According to court documents, Juarez married a man in November 2007 before she was divorced from another man. Her second husband died a few months after they were married, and she withdrew about $17,000 from a checking account they shared and a memorial fund set up by her husband’s employer; she also received about $1,800 in life insurance benefits. That man’s children contacted police claiming her marriage to him was invalid and she was not entitled to the money. Juarez’s divorce to the first man was finalized a month after her second husband died.

Chelan County Superior Court handled the bigamy case because the second marriage took place in Chelan County. However, Douglas County Superior Court will settle the dispute about monetary damages since they occurred in Douglas County, according to court records.

From The Wenatchee World Online

Man Marries 5 Times, Only Divorced Twice

The Newark, NJ Law Director's Office is pursuing a charge of bigamy, a first-degree misdemeanor, against William C. Young Jr., 39.

According to court documents and investigative materials from Newark police, Young has been married five times since 1992 but only divorced twice.

One of his wives, a Kentucky woman Young wedded in 2000, told The Advocate on Wednesday she didn't learn of his other nuptials until earlier this year.

Young has pleaded not guilty and has demanded a jury trial, court documents show.

Newark police were alerted to a possible infraction by an investigator at the Licking County Domestic Relations Court, the police report reads.

Through investigation, police learned Williams was married in Licking County twice -- once in 1992 and once in 1995 -- and both of those unions were legally dissolved, according to the report.

However, police are alleging that a 1999 marriage in Fairfield County, a 2000 marriage in Nashville, Tenn., and his latest wedding in 2008 are all active in the eyes of the law.

The woman he married in Nashville, Lori Young, said Wednesday she learned her husband was married to two other women from one of his family members.

"Shocked, confused, amazed," Young said of her reaction. "Mostly shocked."

Lori Young, who said she is getting her marriage annulled, said the defendant would live with her in Kentucky off and on.

"Each time we'd kind of, I guess, break up, and then we'd get back together and then break up," she said, adding the last time she saw him was in 2005.

William Young told police he had started divorce proceedings for each of the last two marriages but had not followed up to make sure they were granted, according to the report.

To the best of her knowledge, Lori Young said she was unaware of any action by her husband to end their spousal relationship. But she added that is now her immediate intention.

"It's hard to believe at moments even though I'm going through it," she said. "It's just something I want to get resolved as soon as possible."

William Young did not respond to The Advocate's request to speak with him, and his latest wife declined to comment Wednesday.

Two others have been charged with bigamy since 2000, according to Licking County Municipal Court records.

One defendant was found guilty, fined $500 and sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Assistant Law Director Jon Diernbach said Wednesday that the law, which reads that an individual cannot be married to two people at the same time, does not escalate with additional spouses.

From The Newark Advocate

LA Man Assured Wife He Was Single!

A Galliano, LA shipyard employee whose marriage to a Filipino man turned out to be a sham says the man had assured her he had no other wives prior to their marriage in August 2007.

Jamie Griffin had helped her boyfriend, Norman Simon, obtain a divorce from a woman living in the Philippines. But authorities say he also was married to two other women.

Authorities arrested the 39-year-old Simon, a Golden Meadow resident, on a bigamy charge Monday. Police said they believe Simon married Griffin to gain U.S. citizenship. If convicted he could be sentenced to five years in prison. He also faces possible deportation.

Immigration officials have told Griffin her marriage of 20 months never truly existed because Simon, with his multiple wives, did not enter into the union in "good faith."

From WXVT15.com

Idaho Man Charged With Bigamy

A Clarkston, Idaho man has been charged with one count of bigamy.

33-year-old Mancel Wilson made an initial appearance Monday in Asotin County Superior Court on the charge. Police reports say Wilson was still married to Kay Zumwalt when he married his new wife, Lindsay Wilson.

In the report, Lindsay Wilson said she didn't know her new husband was already married until after she filed for divorce and Zumwalt called her. Mancel Wilson said he did not know that his divorce from his ex-wife was never finalized.

Bigamy is a felony carrying a sentence of up to one year in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Asotin County Prosecutor Ben Nichols said this is a very rare case, probably the first in his 15 years with the county.

Wilson will be back in court on April 20.

From KLEW-TV

Orange County CA Man Charged With Bigamy

A convicted felon will be arraigned tomorrow on charges of committing bigamy by marrying two women without their knowledge of his other relationship and stealing a combined $194,000 from the two victims, partly to pay restitution on his prior felony case.

Craig Stevens, 49, formerly of Rancho Santa Margarita, is charged with one felony count each of bigamy, rape by belief perpetrator is spouse, grand theft by false pretense, grand theft, and sentencing enhancements for aggravated white collar crime and financial loss over $200,000. If convicted in this case, he faces a maximum sentence of 11 years and four months in state prison. Stevens, who is currently in state prison on another case, is being held without bail and was transported from Soledad State Prison to Orange County for his scheduled arraignment tomorrow, April 3, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

In an unrelated case, Stevens pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2008, to one felony count of grand theft for embezzling $147,000 from his employer, Balle de Match in Costa Mesa. He was sentenced to one year and four months in state prison and paid $147,000 in restitution to the victim prior to his plea.

In this current case, Stevens is accused of being married to Ann S. in Orange County. On Aug. 4, 2007, the defendant is accused of marrying Illinois resident Elizabeth D. while still married to Ann S. and committing bigamy without the knowledge of either woman.

Stevens is accused of having victim Ann S. use her property inheritance to pay the $147,000 restitution in his embezzlement case. He is accused of fraudulently obtaining $47,000 from Elizabeth D., who believed she was married to the defendant, by claiming that he needed the money to pay for his daughter's college tuition. The defendant does not have a college-aged daughter. Stevens in accused of having sexual intercourse with Elizabeth D., who was unaware that the defendant was legally married to another woman and believed Stevens to be her spouse.

Victim Ann S. believed Stevens to be her loyal husband and would not have given him $147,000 had she known he was married to another woman at the same time.

Deputy District Attorney Jan Christie of the White Collar Crime Team is prosecuting this case.

From The Capistrano Dispatch

Kansas Man Arrested for Bigamy

An Overland Park, KS man is under arrest for being married to two women at once.

Charles L. Clemens, 61, was arrested for identity theft and bigamy. Police said he wasn't divorced from his ex when he married another woman.

Police said both women lived in the same apartment complex along 140th Street in Overland Park.

From Fox4KC.com

Texas Teacher Arrested on Bigamy Charge

Officials in East Texas say a high school teacher is on paid leave after her arrest earlier this month on a bigamy charge.

A Titus County grand jury indicted Sadonna Beth Parker, 48, on March 2. She was arrested a week later.

Investigators said Parker's alleged marital status was discovered when a Naples woman began divorce proceedings. Her attorney discovered that the woman's husband, Mickael Keefe Stinson, had filed for bankruptcy with Parker listed as his wife.

"Sadonna Parker admitted that one of the reasons her and Mickael got married was because it would be cheaper for them to file bankruptcy jointly instead of separately," sheriff's department investigator Kenneth Wilson told the Mount Pleasant Daily Tribune.

Stinson and Parker told investigators they were married but that each also had another spouse.

Stinson did not immediately return a message. A working number could not be found for Parker. She is not listed as an inmate at the Titus County Jail.

A man who answered the phone last week at the address listed in the arrest warrant told the newspaper that Parker didn't want to talk to the media. "We've hired a lawyer to straighten things out," the man said.

Mount Pleasant schools spokeswoman Judy Saxton said Parker was hired as a high school science teacher in August. Saxton said it is district policy to place an employee facing a felony charge on paid administrative leave.

"This is not related to the school district in any way," Saxton said.

From Chron.com

Fraudster Bigamist Web of Lies Exposed

A bigamist exposed by the Belfast Telegraph can now be revealed as a serial fraudster who stole from his employers to pursue another woman with whom he was cheating on his ‘wife’.

John Thomas Cope was yesterday jailed for 18 months for stealing almost £2000, a car, a laptop and a mobile phone from his Co Down employer.

When he was caught running up debts on the company credit card Cope lied and said his wife had accidentally used the card while in Wales where she was undergoing treatment for cancer. Mrs Shirley Cope — who was unaware at the time that her ‘husband’ was still married to his second wife — was perfectly healthy and has never been in Wales.

At Newry Crown Court yesterday it was revealed that Cope has a history of similar frauds at companies he has worked for in Northern Ireland and across the UK. Judge Kevin Finnegan told Cope that he will leave jail penniless, as proceedings for the confiscation of assets are under way.

The 49-year-old — who was last year sentenced to five months in prison after admitting marrying Co Antrim woman Shirley Cope, nee Johnston, while still married to his second wife Leslie Ann Cope — supplied false references to obtain a job as sales and marketing manager for Radius Plastics in Banbridge in October 2007.

Over his few months in employment with the firm Cope ran up £1,845 on the company credit card, booking flights and ferries and dining in restaurants in Wales where he was cheating on his ‘wife’ Shirley Cope.

He walked out on Mrs Cope on Valentine’s Day last year to set up home in Wales with the woman he had been having a secret affair with.

The court heard that Mrs Shirley Cope told police she did not have cancer, she had not travelled to Wales and had not used the company credit card.

A short time later Cope left his ‘wife’ and their two children and fled the country, taking with him the company Saab car worth £25,000, a laptop worth £800 and a mobile phone.

Police found him at a hotel in Birmingham and the stolen car was later recovered in Luton airport with false registration plates.

The court was told that Cope — who has 37 previous offences for burglary, theft, fraud, deception and bigamy — committed a number of similar crimes against employers in Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK from 2006 and has admitted using false references to get jobs and running up debts on his employers’ credit cards.

The court heard that in July he was jailed at Magherafelt Magistrates’ Court for five months for fraudulently running up expenses at an engineering firm he had been working for and keeping their company car.

And before his serial cheating spree throughout 2006 and 2007 he had been jailed for three months by a court in Wolverhampton in 1993 for stealing from an employer.

“He has displayed a tendency for dishonest behaviour,” a prosecution barrister said yesterday.

Cope’s defence team told the court that throughout 2006 and 2007 he had “started out on a course of action which rapidly escalated and caught up on him”.

He said Cope panicked when he realised he had been caught out and fled the country with the car belonging to Radius Plastics.

“He has accepted his culpability and takes it squarely on the chin,” his barrister said.

He added: “This is a man who has the capacity to avoid offending behaviour ... and he is prepared to take his punishment.”

Jailing Cope for 18 months for four counts of theft and one count of providing false references, Judge Finnegan told him that everything he has built up during his time in Northern Ireland is “in likelihood going to be taken off you and you are likely to emerge from prison penniless”.

A confiscation hearing has been adjourned to next month.

By Deborah McAleese of the Belfast Telegraph

For more information read this article

Man Wanted on GA Bigamy Warrant Also Sought in MI, FL, and CA

A man already wanted on bigamy and theft warrants in Georgia is being sought by Jacksonville, FL police on grand theft charges after $12,000 in jewelry was stolen from a woman he proposed to marry, police said.

A man identified as Douglas Ulysses Johnson, 56, posed as an Army lieutenant colonel who served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and was assigned to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

A Jacksonville woman told police she met Johnson online and that the two began making wedding plans after the proposal. Police were told Johnson disappeared while the woman, whose name was not available Thursday, was at work. His belongings and the jewelry were gone, according to police.

Johnson was last known to be driving a red four door Nissan with a Florida tag. He is wanted in Savannah, Ga., on bigamy and theft charges and for absconding from parole in Michigan, according to police who said he is also wanted in California.

An arrest warrant charging Johnson with grand theft was issued Thursday. 

Anyone with information about Johnson's whereabouts is asked to contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or Crimestoppers at 866-845-TIPS to remain anonymous.

By Dana Treen of Jacksonville.com

Alleged Bigamist, Annie Scott, Devastates Family

When David Walters married his wife, Annie, in June 2006, he thought he knew everything about her. He knew she was pretty, sweet and charming. He knew she didn’t associate much with her family, and they didn’t associate with her.

But what Walters didn’t know was, perhaps, the most important thing: Annie was already married to someone else.

Annie Marie Scott, as she is called on an arrest warrant at the Scotland County Clerk of Court, was charged last week with a felony count of bigamy.

Scott is employed by ABP Food Services, which contracts food services in the Scotland County Jail. Walters, a Laurel Hill resident, said he was the one who told the Sheriff’s Office about his wife’s multiple marriages. He did so more than a month after he learned about it from Scott’s mother. According to the arrest warrant, Scott was already married to Christopher Lynn Scott.

Christopher Scott is in a penitentiary in South Carolina serving a 12-year sentence for assault and battery with intent to kill, according to the South Carolina Department of Correction’s Web site. Walters said he learned Annie had been estranged from Christopher Scott for several years.

Annie Scott, who is 32, refused to comment on the situation Wednesday afternoon.

Walters said Annie’s leaving has caused pain in his family. A family that, he said, embraced her with open arms. David Walters and Annie Scott met about five years ago, when Walters needed a secretary for the business he had started in Aberdeen. A relationship slowly started brewing between them, he said.

Two-and-a-half years later, the couple moved to Mobile, Ala., where Walters worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was where the couple was married.

In November 2008, however, their lives changed. Walters’ father, Robert, asked Annie and David to return to Laurel Hill so they could help take care of David’s mother, Edith, who is dying of cancer. It was decided the couple would move in with David’s parents to help take care of Edith and possibly bring in some income to the struggling family, David Walters said.

“It was a win-win situation all around,” he said.

Edith showed Annie how to manage the bills and the household expenses so she could take over when Edith died, Robert Walters said.

David Walters, who is 45, suffers from congestive heart failure and does not work. He is awaiting disability. He said he and his father now take turns helping his mother, who is aided by hospice workers.

A few months into the new arrangement, David said he received a phone call from Annie Scott’s mother, who lives in Scotland County.

She told David her daughter had been married before but had never gotten a divorce. David Walters said he didn’t want to confront Scott with what he’d learned because of his mother’s illness. So he decided to sit on the information and bring it up later. But not long after Walters found out, Scott decided to leave him, he said. She said she didn’t like the way Walters’ 14-year-old daughter was talking to her, and that it was time for her to go.

Scott spoke with Edith and Robert Walters, who tried to convince her to stay and work it out.

She left anyway, and the family said their hearts were broken.

“She can’t just walk in and out of people’s lives, and doing them dirty the way she did,” Edith Walters said.

Her husband, Robert, said: “She didn’t just break man’s law; she broke God’s law.”

David said he tried to patch things up with his wife. He said he wanted to work things out — he told her he wanted to help her get a divorce from Christopher Scott.

But Annie refused, he said. That’s when he called a lawyer and asked for advice.

In early February, Walters called the Scotland County Sheriff’s Office and told deputies about his wife’s previous marriage.

He gave deputies a copy of a marriage certificate between her and Christopher Scott that he had obtained from the county’s records office. Walters believes the couple was married about 14 years ago.

Annie Scott was arrested March 3 and released on a written promise to appear in court. Her trial date is set for May 4, according to the arrest report.

Walters said he hopes the trial will bring closure to the relationship for him and a situation he likens to a movie on the cable channel Lifetime. Even though they may not be legally married, Walters said he doesn’t have the money to divorce her right now. And if he waits on Annie to divorce him, well, he may be waiting a while, he figures.

But more than that, he’s hurt she left, leaving him to wonder which things about her were real and honest and which weren’t, he said. “I’m just frustrated how someone can do this, and walk away and live a life,” he said.

By Jennifer Calhoun of the Fayettville Observer

NC Woman Arrested for Bigamy

Deputies arrested 32-year old Annie Marie Scott, of NC Tuesday. She was charged with bigamy.

She was released on a written promise, the report said.

From the Laurinburg Exchange.

Serial Bigamist, Killeen, Says it was Easy to Con Women

Maybe the thought of all the Valentine's Day shopping he had to do pushed him over the edge. Or maybe the 19th wife was one too many.

Whatever it was, Oliver John Killeen turned himself in to Toronto police last week, confessing to bigamy. The 71-year-old told police he has 19 wives.

Police say the man has multiple spouses in Canada, England and Ireland, and has never obtained a legal divorce for any of his marriages.

"And that's what we know of. We might still find more," he said.

It seems Killeen's a bit of a celebrity across the pond. He was the star of the British documentary "The Conman with 14 Wives." That was five wives ago, by the way. Killeen spent three years in a British jail for bigamy in 2004 and was then deported to Canada.

Killeen spoke about his multiple relationships in an interview with an Irish newspaper in 2006.

"I gave women what they wanted. If they were foolish enough to marry me within a few weeks of meeting me that Biagwas up to them. They should have asked more questions," Killeen said.

"Conning women is easy. I studied psychology and behaviour patterns. I presented myself as a dashing, suave sort of guy and women fell for it."

In that interview Killeen described how he began a "collection of wives" to help care for his family. His second wife only stayed with him for 10 days, so he quickly remarried without waiting for a divorce.

"Getting divorced is costly and time-consuming, so I decided not to bother," he said.

Yeah. Who has the time, eh?

Mr. Killeen also gained infamy in Ireland for posing as a celebrity psychologist, using fake degrees to set himself up as Dr. Oliver J. Killeen, PhD. He ran that scam for a while until he was called to testify in court and the prosecutor unravelled his web of lies.

His ability to reinvent himself had proven irresistable to women, he said. Killian had eight kids from his first marriage in the 70s and another child from another wife.

Killeen is scheduled to appear in court March 24 to answer to the charge of bigamy.

So ladies, if you or anyone you know is married to Oliver John Killian you are asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.

By Dan Benoit, found in the Miramichileader

Feedback? Contact Dan Benoit streetwiseguy@hotmail.com.

Serial Bigamist Oliver Killeen Finally Arrested in Canada

In a big city like Toronto, police are used to handling just about any situation, from murder and sexual assault, to arson and fraud.  But it's not often they lay charges of bigamy.

They did on Thursday, however, arresting 71-year-old Oliver John Killeen and charging him with the rare crime.

Police allege that Killeen married a number of women in Ontario and other parts of the world including England and Ireland, but never divorced any of the others.

It's not immediately clear if the other wives he's accused of marrying know about each other's existence. But at least one did - she apparently came forward on Thursday, leading to the single charge of bigamy.

Killeen has been in trouble before. He served three years in a British jail for the same offence back in 2004, before being deported to Canada. He's known to have at least nine children.

 The suspect has been released on strict conditions, but police won't confirm whether one of them is keeping away from women.

Cops believe there may be more victims and anyone with information is asked to contact police at (416) 808-5300, Crime Stoppers anonymously at (416) 222-TIPS (8477), online  or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637).

Killeen will appear in court on March 24th.

From Toronto CityNews.com. For more information, see the article from CTV.

Wife Sees Husband Marry on TV

An Independence, MO wife got a big surprise when she saw her husband marrying someone else on television, she said. The woman's mother notified her when she saw William Rivera on a local news report about the mass wedding in Independence on Valentine's Day last year.

Rivera showed up at a Jackson County, MO Courthouse Tuesday.

It took nearly a year for attorneys to gather the paperwork necessary to accuse the father of six of having two wives. KCTV5 talked to Rivera's first wife Tuesday.

She did not want to be identified, but she talked about how she felt when she saw her husband marrying another woman."I feel like he has pushed us off in a corner, you know, like tried to hide us in the shadows and forget about us, but you can't, so I'm glad it's all coming to light," she said.

She and Rivera were married nearly 10 years ago in front of a justice of the peace in Independence, the same judge who performed the second marriage, she said. She said their relationship became rocky when he left for Iraq to report for National Guard duty in 2005. He was gone for nearly a year.

Rivera wouldn't comment as he left court Tuesday, but he did refer to his first wife as his "ex."

Rivera is expected back in court next month. Rivera's first wife said she will not seek a divorce. "I know that Jesus performs miracles. His word says it," she said.

From KCTV5

James Byron Montgomery Given Probation and a $500 Fine for Bigamy

James Byron Montgomery agreed with Texas 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother on Monday. He knows he should marry just one woman at a time. It’s less complicated, and it will keep him out of felony court.

Strother placed the 55-year-old Moody man on deferred probation for three years and fined him $500 on Monday. Montgomery pleaded guilty last month to bigamy, a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

“The next time, just marry one at a time, OK?” Strother told Montgomery after his sentencing hearing.

“OK, your honor,” Montgomery said. Montgomery declined comment Monday.

However, he told the Tribune-Herald in October after his indictment that he married Tiffiney Still in May 2007 in Las Vegas without first divorcing his third wife, Rebecca Montgomery.

“I used to drive a truck, and me and my fiancee, Tiffiney, were in Vegas, and we just, like, got a wild hair,” Montgomery has said. “We knew it was against the law. We just really didn’t feel married. We just, like, did it. I didn’t really think it was going to be a real marriage.”

Rebecca Montgomery found out about the Las Vegas wedding and reported it to the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office.

Montgomery said he filed for divorce the same month that he married Still and that he and Rebecca Montgomery, who now lives in Palestine, had been separated for about four months at the time.

“I wish they would go after real criminals instead of people who fall in love,” Montgomery said in October.

By Tommy Witherspoon of the Waco Tribune Herald.

Alleged TN Bigamist Bond Increased--Considered Flight Risk

A man charged with bigamy was seen as a flight risk when he appeared in General Sessions Court on Thursday.

Harold Garth Jr., 47, a minister, was taken into custody and his bond was raised from $500 to $50,000. A new hearing date has been set for Jan. 30.

Two women have accused Garth of being married to both of them. Garth claims he divorced one of the women before marrying the other.

One of the two women claiming to be his wife appeared in court on Thursday. His current girlfriend and mother were both there as well.

Mary Lou Garth said she married Garth in September of 2006. She said they later separated, but did not get a divorce.

She said at work she recently met Patricia Garth, who also said she is married to Harold Garth.

The women exchanged notes and then decided to go to the courthouse together to take action to seek the criminal action.

Harold Garth and Patricia were married in 2000, but allegedly did not get a divorce.

The two women said they found that Garth allegedly married Shannne Renee Garth in 1988 and also did not get a divorce from her.

Mr. Garth was seen as a flight risk because he is wanted on charges in Fulton County, Ga., authorities said.

From The Chattanoogan.com

Alleged PA Bigamist, John A. Melchiorre, Jr., Pleads Not Guilty

A Springfield, PA man has pleaded not guilty to charges he allegedly committed bigamy by getting married to a woman in Ambler while still married to a North Carolina woman.

John A. Melchiorre Jr., 38, of the 300 block of Garden Road, waived his arraignment in Montgomery County Court and entered not guilty pleas to charges of bigamy, false swearing in an official proceeding and unsworn falsification in connection with a July 2008 incident.

By waiving his arraignment, Melchiorre did not have to appear before a judge for a formal reading of the charges lodged against him. Melchiorre, who remains free on bail, now faces a trial on the charges. A trial date has not yet been scheduled.

If convicted of all the charges at trial, Melchiorre faces a possible maximum sentence of three to six years in state prison.

An investigation of Melchiorre began last August when a North Carolina woman contacted county detectives regarding bigamy allegations. The woman told detectives she married Melchiorre in August 1994 in North Carolina and that Melchiorre moved from their marital residence in June 2008.

The North Carolina woman told authorities she had recently learned that Melchiorre married again in Montgomery County while he was still married to her.

The investigation revealed that Melchiorre and his new bride-to-be applied for a marriage license at the county courthouse on July 30, 2008, according to a criminal complaint. When asked on the license application if he had any prior marriages, Melchiorre allegedly said he did not. Melchiorre also allegedly provided false information regarding his mother’s maiden name on the marriage license application, according to the arrest affidavit.

“The defendant knowingly falsified this document in an attempt to conceal his first marriage to the victim,” county Detective James Carbo wrote in the arrest affidavit.

The investigation revealed that Melchiorre and his second bride were married during an Aug. 9, 2008, wedding ceremony at Calvary United Methodist Church on Park Avenue in Ambler, court documents indicate.

By Carl Hessler, Jr. of The Times-Herald

Wisconsin Man Charged With Bigamy

A Marshfield, WI man is charged in Clark County with marrying more than one woman at a time.

Thirty-one-year-old James Boatwright faces a charge of bigamy. He's accused of marrying Elizabeth Boatwright in Loyal in 2005 while also having a wife in Missouri. Court records show Boatwright also married Crystal Evans in Maryville, Mo. in April 2002, but the two were not divorced until December 2007.

Boatwright told police he didn't tell his second wife about his previous marriage because he had "put that part of his life behind him."

Boatwright has an initial court appearance March 2. The bigamy charge carries a maximum penalty of one and a-half years in prison.

From The Chicago Tribune and Associated Press.

WVA Man Pleads Guilty to Bigamy

A Mercer County, WVa man accused of bigamy has pleaded guilty. William Conley, Jr. 36, entered a guilty plea today in Mercer County Circuit Court. He won't spend any time in jail for the crime.

Instead, Conley was put on probation for a year. Police say the man had a wife in Bluefield, WVa and one in Hawaii.

By Christy Buckland of The State Journal

NM Man, Anthony Richardson, Indicted on Bigamy Charge

He got his marriage license and he and his new bride got hitched. But instead of celebrating his life as a newlywed, the groom may be headed to jail. It turns out he was still married to another woman, prosecutors said.

Anthony Richardson, 40, of Las Cruces, NM, was indicted last week by a Dona Ana County Grand Jury on one count of bigamy.

The district attorney's office said Richardson had married his first wife and had children, but the couple separated. Richardson told police he assumed his first wife had taken care of everything with the divorce.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Orlando said Ricahrdson never confirmed that he was divorced, instead obtained a marriage license and married wife number 2 on June 3. The second marriage is not considered legal.

Court records show that the first wife has since filed for divorce in Nov. 2008. That case is still pending.

The groom was not arrested, but the district attorney's office is asking for his arrest and that his bond be set at $15,000.

Bigamy is a fourth-degree felony that carries a possible 18-month jail sentence.

By Renee Ruelas-Venegas of Las Cruces Sun News

Florida Man, Marvin Robert Frazer, Charged with Bigamy

Marvin Robert Frazer, 44, was arrested on a warrant for bigamy Tuesday. He is being held in the Land O'Lakes, FL jail in lieu of $2,000 bail. Bigamy is defined as entering the act of marriage while still being married to another person.

Frazer lives in Zephyrhills and, according to his arrest report from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, he works as a cook. The location of his employment isn't known.

Frazer is about 6 feet tall and weighs 330 pounds. He has tattoos and scars and thin brown hair that skims his shoulders.

He was born in Rochester, N.Y., and seems to have only one other arrest in Florida — driving with a suspended license in Pasco County in March 2007.

That arrest was a few months before his marriage to Ilene Finn, also 44, on July 7, 2007. According to the marriage license, they were wed by John Harris at First Presbyterian Church in Zephyrhills. Finn, whose birthday was Sunday, also has one arrest for driving with a suspended license. She was not able to be reached Wednesday.

The Zephyrhills Police Department is investigating the charge of bigamy and would not release any information about the case. Phone calls to the State Attorney's Office were not returned.

It is not known how many wives Frazer allegedly has. Other information about the case is also not known. A records search indicates Frazer might have another wife in New York, but she could not be reached Wednesday.

By Erin Sullivan of The St. Petersburg Times.

TN Minister, Harold Garth, Charged with Bigamy

A Chattanooga, TN minister has been arrested on a charge of bigamy. Harold Garth Jr., 47, of Rogers Road, was taken into custody after two women who said they both are still legally married to him went to General Sessions Court to take out a warrant. Garth appeared before Chief Magistrate Larry Ables and bond was set at $500.

Garth claims he divorced one of the women before marrying the other. But he was dismissed as associate pastor of the church he has been serving - Greater Shiloh Baptist Church - on Sunday.

Mary Lou Garth said she married Garth in September of 2006. She said they later separated, but did not get a divorce.

She said she met Patricia Garth at work recently, who is also married to Garth. The women exchanged notes and then decided to go to the courthouse together to take action to seek the criminal action. Harold Garth and Patricia were married in 2000, but allegedly did not get a divorce.

The two women said they found that Garth allegedly married Shannne Renee Garth in 1988 and also did not get a divorce from her. They said they believe he may also be married to a woman in Fulton County, GA.

From TheChattoonoga.com

James Moyer Gets Three Months for Bigamy

A man who got married three more times before a divorce was finalized will serve three months in jail for bigamy. James Moyer, 63, of Waynesboro, VA received a six-month jail sentence in Augusta County Circuit Court last week for each of the three counts of bigamy, to run concurrently, with three months suspended.

A former truck driver, Moyer did not respond to divorce papers filed in 1996 by Naomi Ruth Moyer, his third wife. At the time, the couple had been separated for two years, according to investigator Aaron Leveck of the Augusta Sheriff's Office.

The divorce became final on Nov. 21, after he had remarried in 2000, 2003 and 2005.

James Moyer said in court that he was surprised at the charges. "I tell you, it was a complete shock," he said. "I don't know what happened."

He recalled signing some papers while home in between shifts as a truck driver but said he was unsure what he signed at the time.

Naomi Ruth Moyer had been turned down this year for Social Security benefits because she learned she was still legally married to James Moyer. She then reported that to the Augusta Sheriff's Office, which began an investigation.

James Moyer, who has a robbery conviction from 1976 in Albemarle County, could have received a sentence from two years and three months to seven years and eight months, but Augusta Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Thomas Knoll Jr. declined to pursue the stiffer sentence.

By Jimmy Laroue of The News Virginian. This article is from the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Bigamy in Texas and Murder in New York

Call it a mother's intuition. Carrollton, TX  resident Barbara Casey said she had an uneasy feeling from the start about the man her daughter met at a local gym this summer and began dating.

Bryon D. Drennan, 36, was almost too polite, too controlled, said Mrs. Casey. And he quickly seemed to become obsessed with her daughter, Stefanie Nicole Casey, a 28-year-old former schoolteacher.

"Something didn't feel right about the way he presented himself," Mrs. Casey said of her daughter's suitor. "I never really saw violence, but there were things that gave me concern shortly after she began seeing him."

Two days after Thanksgiving, Stefanie's body was found under a pile of rocks on the shores of Lake Ontario in upstate New York, near where the couple were married Nov. 3.

A grand jury there last week indicted Mr. Drennan on second-degree murder charges. Wayne County, N.Y., District Attorney Richard Healy said he believes that Mr. Drennan, who is being held in the Wayne County jail without bail, killed his bride because she wanted to leave him and return to Texas.

"They'd only been married a month, but he was abusive," Mr. Healy said. "She was leaving him to go home."

Bigamy complaint

Mr. Drennan's legal woes aren't contained to New York. Before his arrest, Carrollton police began a separate investigation into a bigamy complaint against him filed by his first wife, Rhonda, whom he'd married in 1994.

Last month, Rhonda Drennan told police that she and her husband split up over the summer, and that he remarried before their divorce was finalized. Denton County records show that the couple's divorce petition was filed on Aug. 26, but the final hearing isn't scheduled until Feb. 23, 2009. Reached by phone, Ms. Drennan declined to be interviewed.

"We felt we had enough evidence to prove bigamy to send it to the [Denton County] prosecutor's office," Carrollton police Officer Dustin Bartram said. The case is now in the hands of prosecutors who will determine how to proceed.

Bigamy – a third-degree felony that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $10,000 fine – is a very rare charge. Officer Bartram said Carrollton has had only five bigamy cases filed since 1993.

"The marriage they had is not legal," said Mrs. Casey of Stefanie's union with Mr. Drennan. She recalled Mr. Drennan telling her daughter that he was divorced when the two met this summer. Soon the couple began living together, and Mrs. Casey and her husband, Robert, saw little of their daughter. "He isolated her from the family," Mrs. Casey said.

Move to New York

The couple moved to New York around the beginning of November and got married in the town of Williamson. Mr. Drennan had lost his job with an accounting firm and thought he'd have better prospects in upstate New York, where his family still lived, Mrs. Casey said.

Far from her family and Texas roots, Stefanie seemed to realize that she'd made a mistake, said her mother. On one of her rare phone calls home, she told her mother that she was being abused and said Mr. Drennan had been arrested for domestic violence while they were on their honeymoon in Honolulu.

Police in Honolulu confirmed that Mr. Drennan was arrested Nov. 5 for "abuse of a household member" and was ordered to stay away from the victim for 24 hours. Stefanie called police from a Waikiki hotel and reported that Mr. Drennan had injured both of her arms.

Two weeks after the honeymoon, Mrs. Casey said, Stefanie was ready to leave Mr. Drennan. "We'd made arrangements for her to come back home the day before Thanksgiving, but he convinced her to come back," Mrs. Casey said.

Mr. Drennan telephoned to tell the Caseys that Stefanie would not be coming back to Texas after all. "He wouldn't let her call," Mrs. Casey said. "But she got on the phone and told us she loved us." That was the last time the Caseys spoke to their daughter.

Thanksgiving call

On Thanksgiving Day, Mr. Drennan's mother called Williamson police to report that he and his new wife were missing, New York State Police Capt. Philip Pettine said. Later that day, Mr. Drennan returned to his family's home, saying he had put Stefanie on a plane back to Texas.

The next day, police received a call from a woman who reported seeing a man carry a plastic bag into the woods on Thanksgiving Day. She told police that her son located the bag and found bloody clothing inside.

Capt. Pettine said the bag also contained other evidence: a prescription bottle with Bryon Drennan's name on it, and a wooden heart. When Mr. Drennan was questioned later that day, he admitted that he had struck his wife in the head with a 10-pound weight from a barbell set and stabbed her with the wooden heart, authorities said.

But Mr. Drennan said that he acted in self-defense and that Stefanie was alive when he last saw her, Capt. Pettine said. Two days after Thanksgiving, police – acting on another tip – found Stefanie's body along the Lake Ontario shoreline.

Last week, the Casey family held a memorial service for their only daughter. "We want Stefanie to be remembered for the special person she was, and not for this crime," Mrs. Casey said. "She was a victim, and I hope that her story might save the life of someone else in this situation."

By Wendy Hundley of The Dallas Morning News

Timeline

•March 11, 1994 – Bryon David Drennan and Rhonda Liberte are married in Henrietta, N.Y. They move to Texas the same year.

•Aug. 26, 2008 – Rhonda Drennan of Carrollton files for divorce in Denton County. The divorce is scheduled to be finalized Feb. 23, 2009.

•Nov. 3 – Mr. Drennan and Stefanie Nicole Casey, formerly of Carrollton, are married in Williamson, N.Y.

•Nov. 12 – Ms. Drennan files a bigamy complaint against Mr. Drennan with the Carrollton Police Department.

•Nov. 27 (Thanksgiving) – Ms. Casey is reported missing

•Nov. 29 – Ms. Casey's body is found under rocks near Lake Ontario. Mr. Drennan is arrested.

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research

FL Man Gets Prison Time for Bigamy

L.J. Hare reluctantly admitted Thursday he has had at least one wife too many.

Hare, 41, who also uses the names "Leonard John" and "Lyn Jon," pleaded no contest to felony bigamy, accepting a plea deal that requires him to spend 18 months in prison.

Assistant State Attorney Stephanie Mahaney said the plea will help the victimized women move on with their lives, although court records suggest that they already have.

Penny Milman, 36, of Winter Garden, who married Hare in 2006 at the Chapel of Love in Eustis, filed for an annulment of their marriage in October.

Tammy Hare, the Colorado woman who triggered the investigation by police, has filed a civil complaint in Orange County seeking child support for her son.

Hare's first wife, Candy Winks, now has "grounds" to divorce Hare, who had refused to sign papers that would have ended their marriage in New York, a state that requires divorcing parties to show cause or fault.

Mahaney said Hare could have been sentenced to five years in prison if he had rejected the state's offer and opted for a trial and lost. She said the women approved of the state's offer, though they had wanted L.J. Hare to serve the maximum possible time in prison.

Assistant Public Defender Jeremy Pykosz arranged Thursday's hearing to give Hare a final chance to consider the state's offer, which the burly Romeo repeatedly rejected.

Mahaney said she planned to withdraw the offer if prosecutors had to buy plane tickets for their out-of-state witnesses.

Since Hare's arrest this summer, nine women contacted the Orlando Sentinel and said they had been wooed or romanced by Hare on Internet sites for plus-size singles.

Six said they met him in person, including a Central Florida woman who said she might have accepted his sudden marriage proposal if he hadn't abruptly stopped calling.

Hare's sentencing was delayed until Jan. 5 by Lake Circuit Judge Mark J. Hill to allow the victims an opportunity to address the court, Mahaney said.

Hare, who worked in construction, often portrayed himself to his Internet girlfriends as a federal marshal whose undercover work required him to disappear suddenly and for long periods of time.

Hare kept up the ruse in letters from the Lake County Jail to Charlotte Gonzalez, a friend of his wife, Tammy, in Colorado.

In the letters, which Gonzalez turned over to prosecutors, Hare tried to explain his secret lives, saying, "I have had to fully start over six times in 10 years now. Leaving everything and everyone behind."

The claims are vague, unsubstantiated bunk, Mahaney said.

By Stephen Hudak of The Orlando Sentinel Times.

Former UK Church Minister and Policeman Gets 3 Years for Bigamy and Forgery

Roderick Sangster, 58, was convicted in his absence at Warwick Crown Court after going on the run.

The jury heard he married Janet Pollard, with whom he lived in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, while still married to Jill Sangster in 2004.

Sangster, who left both women heavily in debt, was sentenced after giving himself up earlier this week.

 Originally from Perth, Scotland, he worked as a police officer for the Metropolitan and Grampian forces before qualifying as a Church of Scotland minister at St Andrews.

Internet dating

Sangster had been married for 25 years to Frances Tait, of Portlethen, Aberdeenshire, with whom he had had four children. He divorced her and married Mrs Sangster in Florida on 6 August 1996. He left her in 2002 and began divorce proceedings, but they were not completed.

Sangster then found a job at a hotel in Evesham, Worcestershire, and started internet dating Ms Pollard, who was recovering from cancer.

He told her he had divorced his wife and moved in with her.

Mrs Sangster, to whom he is still legally married, was forced to declare herself bankrupt after discovering her husband had run up a debt of £30,000.

Ms Pollard was left with a bill for £55,000 after he ran away last February on the day he claimed he was due to be paid in a fictitious £107,500 book deal.

The women found out about one another after Mrs Sangster, of Perth, contacted Ms Pollard when she was chasing up her husband's debts.

He was also convicted in his absence of forging Ms Pollard's signature to obtain a £10,000 loan from Northern Rock.

Judge Marten Coates told him: "You left your first wife, debts had risen to impossible levels.

"You left your second wife bankrupt and your third partner almost destitute.

"Your motives, I am sure, were dishonest from the start.

"Bigamy cases are rare. I think they are rare because the public has a greater regard for the institution and obligations of marriage than you do."

'Finally over'

Sangster was also sentenced to 12 months for forgery and two months for failing to attend his trail, both to run concurrently.

The trial heard he targeted financially secure women, took their money and left them in debt before moving on.

Outside court, a statement was read out by Det Sgt Cawail Wong on behalf of the women.

He said: "We are pleased with the outcome at court and that the case is finally over.

"The ladies have had closure with regards to Roderick Sangster and are now looking forward to moving on with their lives."

Sangster's barrister Adam Western told the court his client wanted to apologise to the three women.

Mr Western said: "He asks and wants to tell the court through me that he regrets the hurt and embarrassment he has caused these women, in particular Janet."

From BBC News

Montgomery Pleads Guilty to Bigamy

James Montgomery, 53, of Moody, TX, who was accused of marrying his girlfriend in Las Vegas while still legally married to another woman, pleaded guilty to a bigamy charge Monday in 19th District Court in Waco. Sentencing was set for Jan. 26, and Montgomery was indicted last month.

He was accused of marrying his girlfriend Tiffani in the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, without first divorcing his wife, Rebecca Montgomery back in Texas.
McLennan County Justice of the Peace Kristi DeCluitt’s office said that according the arrest affidavit, Rebecca Montgomery notified local law enforcement officers of the marriage.

Investigators obtained a marriage certificate for Tiffani and Montgomery from Clark County, Nev.

Montgomery told News 10 that while he knew it was against the law to marry someone while already married he didn't realize that marriage ceremonies conducted in Las Vegas were "real" or legally binding.

He said that had he known the repercussions, he would not have gone through with the Las Vegas marriage on May 25, 2007.

Montgomery said he has been married to three different women since 1980.

From KWTX-TV

LA Mom Charged with Bigamy and Fraud

A Los Angeles woman who fled the country with her children after being charged with bigamy and insurance fraud has been caught in Mexico.

Authorities told the Los Angeles Times Monday that Damaris Amesquita was captured by a bail bonds agent in Mexicali after she fled earlier this year. Authorities say her two daughters, 9 and 11, and a 2-year-old boy she had falsely claimed was her biological son were found unharmed.

Authorities say Amesquita fraudulently collected death benefits of more than $120,000 for her husband and falsely obtained health benefits for the 2-year-old by claiming him as her son. Prosecutors say her husband still lives in Guatemala.

Amesquita is a former clerk with the Los Angeles County Probation Department.

From The MercuryNews.com