Fight Bigamy

Victim of NC Bigamist Says A National Database Should Be Established to Prevent Bigamy

A Clayton NC man who is thought to have as many as seven wives pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of bigamy, although it might not be the end of his legal woes.

Keron Lamont Wilkins, 32, was placed on probation for two years after he pleaded guilty in Wake County District Court, according to court records.

"This doesn't conclude anything," said Shannetta Dawn Stone, 32, the wife from Richmond, Va., with whom Wilkins had lived in Cary.

Police accused Keron Lamont Wilkins, 32, of marrying Stone on March 20 while he still was married to Chaka Khan Miles Wilkins -- his wife of eight years and the mother of two of his children.

The two women worked together to bring their husband to justice.

Stone learned from Wilkins' mother in April that he already was married to another woman. But Wilkins wouldn't fess up when Stone confronted him.

Chaka Wilkins, with whom he shared an apartment in Clayton, later found text messages he had sent Stone. She called her and told her about them.

Stone, who met Wilkins at a gas station, said she pursued criminal charges against him. She has been actively following the case, driving more than four hours from Richmond to see Wilkins plead guilty.

In an interview Tuesday, Stone said that traffic jams caused her to miss the hearing.

Wilkins' sentence should have been tougher, Stone said. The sentence range for a bigamy conviction is four to 10 months in prison, according to state law.

"I guess I should be happy because he has a felony on his record, and it will be difficult for him to get a job," Stone said. "Why is it that if you break the one covenant we have with God ... you can get away with a slap on the wrist?"

Wilkins refused to comment about the case.

Efforts to reach Charles Caldwell, a Wake public defender representing Wilkins, were unsuccessful.

In early May, another woman came forward saying she also is married to Wilkins. Jenean Baker of Atlanta said she and Wilkins wed Nov. 25, 2005, in Miami.

Efforts to reach Baker for comment also were unsuccessful.

Stone said she has been in contact with Baker, who is planning to pursue a bigamy charge against Wilkins in Miami. She thinks that charge will open the door for the pursuit of federal charges.

"Once we get him charged in another state, then it's an interstate crime," said Stone, who said she is trying to get an annulment.

Stone said she has been contacted by four more women -- three living in Virginia and one in Arizona -- who claim to be married to Wilkins.

There should be a national database established to help prevent similar situations from happening, Stone said: "We really need that so not only myself but the other women can be vindicated."

By Titan Barksdale of The News Observer

China Plans Online Marriage List to Fight Bigamy

Worried your husband-to-be is already married? In China you will soon be able to check on a nationwide registry of marriage details, designed to stamp out bigamy, the official Xinhua agency reported late on Tuesday.

The system, recording the date, place and names of every marriage, should be up and running by 2010, Xinhua quoted the Civil Affairs Ministry as saying. Simplified marriage procedures have led to a rise in bigamy in recent years, Xinhua said. China is in the middle of a crackdown on official corruption, with those who take extra wives and mistresses being targeted. 

From the Khaleej Times (Reuters)

Sociopaths, Bigamy, and the National Marriage Database Featured in The Press of Atlantic City

Meggan Clark writes in her Press of Atlantic City article recently about men who win your hearts and take your money via Internet love connections. Clark speaks of "countless women across the country and around the world — women who have been left destitute by serial bigamists who fabricate an entire life of lies in order to win their victims' hearts and take their money".

The article features Lovefraud.com author Donna Andersen's story as well as Donna Layne Roberts'. Also there are comments from an expert on sociopaths from Rutgers University and comments from Rhoda Cook, the national coordinator of the Citizens United to Find Fugitives (CUFF).

In addition there is a sidebar article about the push for a National Marriage Database. Read the entire article online.

Why We Need a National Marriage Database

An article by Jerry Markon and Jamie Stockwell appeared in the The Washington Post today about Sham Marriages in Arlington County Virginia as well as other jurisdictions in Northern Virginia. According to Markon and Stockwell's article: Law-enforcement officials said the scheme took advantage of marriage laws they called lax in Virginia compared with those of the rest of the Washington region. Couples can apply for and be granted a license within minutes -- and can get married the same day. Yesterday, at the Arlington clerk's office, for example, a young couple, arm in arm, applied for a marriage license. Ten minutes later, a clerk asked them to raise their right hands and handed them a license. A sign nearby said: "Marriage licenses are $30 cash only. No checks, debit or credit cards."

Each state and the District of Columbia have laws for applying for a marriage license. A legal marriage provides benefits to both parties and is a legal, binding contract. Marriage licenses were not issued in the United States until the mid-1800s. In 1923, the Federal Government passed the Uniform Marriage and Marriage License Act. It was not until 1929 that every state had marriage license laws conforming to Federal standards. For the first time, every marriage in order to be legally recognized by the Federal Government had to be licensed.

Getting a marriage license is easy. In my home state of Virginia, the couple does not even have to be a resident of the state, there is no waiting period, and only some Virginia counties require a copy of a divorce decree if either of the applicants were married previously. You just have to show them your driver's license, pay $30 (cash), and you've got a license. The next day you could go to another county with another applicant and receive another marriage license.

This happens because there is no system in place to check to see if the applicants are married in another county much less another state. The proof of a prior marriage could be a divorce decree from two or three marriages back. The unsuspecting bride or groom wouldn't realize that there was a previous marriage that had not ended in divorce. Or depending on what was told to the other party, the appliciant could claim they had never been married. Getting away with multiple, fraudulent marriages in our country is a snap.

This system worked when it was first initiated because most people lived in rural communities where everyone knew one another, and punishment for bigamy was much more severe. Also most marriages at that time were religious unions and recorded in the family Bible.

Our archaic system is failing in our transitional, wireless-based society of today. Moreover, Internet dating sites have given many of these predators a whole new supply. Our fragile system is taken advantage of by serial bigamists sociopaths and con artists. Also fraudulent sham marriages, many that are bigamous, have become common among illegal aliens needing a green card and a path to citizenship.

A centralized National Marriage Database is desperately needed in this country. I urge you to sign Donna Layne Roberts' petition.

Bigamy and National Marriage Database Featured on Fox News Baltimore

The National Marriage Database and bigamy were featured as the "Cover Story" on Fox-45 News in Baltimore, MD last night.

You can view the entire video. From the drop-down list, select 'Bigamy', click 'Go' and select your format and speed for viewing.

It is important to note that Donna Layne Roberts began push and the petition for a National Marriage Database and it was she that was married to the 'Don Juan of Con', William Michael Barber.

National Marriage Database Subject of Recent Post on Lovefraud's Blog

Donna Andersen, author of Lovefraud.com, the Lovefraud Blog, and a strong supporter of Donna Layne Roberts' petition for a National Marriage Database, wrote in the most recent Lovefraud Blog her thoughts on the National Marriage Database and how commenters on Kerry Doughtery's recent Virginian-Pilot editorial as well as Doughtery herself are misinformed. Donna Andersen, a victim of a bigamist, con artist, and in her opinion a sociopath, James Montgomery, says "most bigamists are sociopaths, professional manipulators", and they commit crimes other than bigamy. She believes a National Marriage Database is similar to a property title search requirement --- a title search is a legal requirement to ensure that property we are buying is "free and clear". Why shouldn't we be able to see if the person we are marrying is "free and clear" also? Be sure to read Donna's latest blog post.

Op-Ed Reporter Would Rather Blame Victims Than Look at the Real Problem

Kerry Doughtery, an op-ed journalist with the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, would rather blame the victims than look into the real problem of bigamy! Kerry's editorial in today's paper really steamed me, but that is okay. I expect a lot more uninformed, can't get the facts right articles just like this one in our pursuit for a National Marriage Database. I can take criticism of our cause in an intelligent manner, but I have a real problem when a journalist implies:

• All bigamy victims are women
• Blames the victims over and over with phrases like:
  • "Get to know your betrothed before sprinting to the altar".
  • "Spend time with his family.
  • "Socialize with his friend".
  • "His co-workers.
  • "Ask questions. Lots of questions".
  • "Don't rush into marriage."

Spare me, Doughtery. Do you realize that most victims of serial bigamists dated their "betrothed" for a long time before they married them? In my case, I dated Hicks for two years. In the case of Julie Flint (wife before me), she dated him three years. Donna Layne Roberts, who began the National Marriage Database petition, dated Barber quite some time before she went to the alter and even did a background search. Randy Bish was married to Julia for twelve years before she started marrying other men. Get your facts straight, Kerry Doughtery, before you start placing blame on others. I detest sloppy journalism and this is drivel.

As I stated in my comment on Kerry's editorial piece:
Bigamy is just a symptom of a far bigger problem. The problem is that these men and women are sociopaths. They are PREDATORS who con their way through life. And believe me they are good, Kerry--just like your good ole Uncle Ken! Background checks are difficult and only turn up sporadic information at best--a skilled con will never turn up on one of those. The most intelligent and hard working citizens are conned by these antisocials. You may say it could never happen to you, but think again. In my zip code alone there are an estimated 3,000 sociopaths. Frightening, isn't it? This is not a "personal" problem, it is a nationwide problem. Defending yourself against the likes of predators such as these requires that the government step up to the plate. The costs associated with the most destructive of personality disorders and the havoc these creature create in the lives of those they touch is mammoth. But, Kerry would rather blame the victims. How sad.

Donna Anderson's comment:
People who commit bigamy generally are not simply "in love with love." Bigamy is often a manifestation of a far larger problem - the bigamist is a sociopath, a social predator. Sociopaths have no conscience, no remorse, and no emotional attachments to other people. Sociopaths do not feel affection, but they proclaim their "love" to manipulate their targets into giving them what they want - usually money or sex. The fact that it is impossible to verify whether or not someone is married enables these predators to victimize people. Experts estimate that 1 percent of the population are sociopaths - that's 3 million in the U.S. They devastate millions of lives. These people are fluent liars and con artists, and the US legal system is woefully inadequate in dealing with them. A marriage database would be a basic step toward helping innocent people defend themselves.

Doughtery over and over implies that only women are interested in this database.

Randy Bish's comment:
Obviously, Kerry should check into the facts before she writes a story. Bigamy victims are not just women, as she states. I was married to my wife for over 12 years before I found out that she had married other men during the final years of our marriage. The lives of our five small children were devasted in the wake of her actions. All of this happened because she was able to walk into the same city and apply for two seperate marriage licenses within two years. I don't know about you, Kerry, but I see something seriously wrong with this picture. Why would anyone oppose a system whose purpose would be to prevent crime? Many other countries...including China...already use such a system. God forbid that you should ever have to be the victim of a crime and then have others tell you that the crime that had upset your life was not serious. Kerry agrees in her article that these are serious crimes. Yet she goes on to joke about the subject and condemn a suggested cure.

National Marriage Database Receives Media Attention

Yesterday, I received a call from a reporter from the Virginian-Pilot asking me my thoughts on the National Marriage Database. John Hopkins, reporter for the Norfolk, Virginia newspaper, also interviewed Donna Layne Roberts who started the petition.

Be sure to read John Hopkins' article in The Virginian Pilot, and I urge to you sign the petition. Additionally, the article includes a poll, which asks "Should Congress Authorize a National Database of Marriages and Divorces to Try to Stop Bigamists"? Please vote as well as include your comment at the end of the article.
 

Sign the Petition for a National Marriage Database

Bigamy would become a crime of the past if there were a National Database of Marriages and Divorce. Donna Layne Roberts, victim of the notorious "Don Juan of Con"--William Michael Barber--began a petition asking Congress to support this request and pass a law that will require All marriages and ALL divorces to be entered into a National Database.

Bigamy is a serious social and criminal problem that is overlooked, laughed at, and enabled by the way in which applications for marriage licenses are haphazardly given to applicants in the United States. If you apply for a marriage license, no background checking is done, and you are "at your word" to provide honest answers on the marriage application. A man or woman who is already married, could easily go today and get married and no checking is performed. Furthermore, there is no centralized database for jurisdictions to check to see whether or not a person is being truthful on their application.

Even a bigamous marriage can occur in the same in the same jurisdiction. Julia Bish-Judah-Hunt-White-McGovern married two men in Las Vegas. The marriages appear in the Clark County, NV marriage database. No checking was done to see if the serial bigamist obtained a divorce because Bish lied on her marriage application stating that Randy Bish was dead. Julia was married White, Hunt, McGovern, and Judah while still married to Randy Bish.

Bigamy is a felony in 37 states, yet rarely do bigamists ever spend a night in jail. Many get off with fines less than what most of us get for reckless driving tickets. It is cheaper to be a bigamist than get a divorce. Bigamists dish out emotional abuse to their victims, and they ruin them financially. Please sign the petition today and help ensure the prevalent crimes of bigamy and fraud will become harder to commit, and the sanctity of both religious and civil unions will be protected.

What other bloggers are saying about the petition for a National Marriage Database:

• Lovefraud Blog
• You're A Target Not a Victim
• Exposing Cyberpaths and Online Predators
• Con Men and Con Women
• Crime Sucks!

Do you think you are married to a bigamist? Do you know someone who is? Read this. Interested in a bigamy discussion group, please join.