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How marrying a woman while still being legally married another landed a man in court
By Renay Sambach
Kaieteur News – An interesting matter that had reached the court last year was that of a man who thought he was divorced and remarried but ended up with a bigamy charge. Bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons.
Charged for marrying twice, Michael Taylor.
While many may not be aware that such an act is illegal, it should be noted that marrying while still being legally married to another carries a fine and jail time of possibly seven years.
Recently, Michael Taylor, 38, an airport ramp attendant of Lot 1 Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara, made headlines after he was found guilty of marrying twice and was fined $100,000 (or in default 12 months in prison) for the offence.
On May 25, 2020, Taylor made his first court appearance in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts before Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan. The charge was filed under Section 83(1) of Criminal Law (Offences) Act, which stipulates, “Everyone, who being married, marries any other person during the life of the former husband or wife, whether the marriage takes place in Guyana or elsewhere, shall be guilty of a felony and liable to a term of imprisonment for seven years.”
The matter was later transferred to Magistrate Rondel Weever’s courtroom for trial. After the trial, Magistrate Weever ruled that the prosecution had provided enough evidence to show that Taylor did in fact commit bigamy. In handing down her ruling, Magistrate Weever had disclosed her findings and subsequently fined Taylor $100,000 and it was noted that if he failed to pay his fine he would have to serve 12 months in prison.
Taylor had pleaded not guilty to the offence. On the first hearing, his lawyer had told the court that her client is a law-abiding citizen and a father of two who did not know about the crime. She had also made a bail application for Taylor on that hearing.
The court learned that Taylor was unaware that he was still married to his first wife due to the fact that she promised to divorce him before he moved out of their marital home some time ago. However, in her address to the court, the lawyer had admitted that there was no record before the court to show the couple had ever filed for a divorce.
Bigamy poster (no caption needed)
The charge was brought against Taylor after his first wife found out about her husband’s wedding in February 2020 and notified the General Register Office (GRO).
During an interview with Kaieteur News, the woman had stated that she reported her husband to the authorities after she found out that he had remarried without divorcing her. The woman had claimed to have married Taylor in 2015 and that she and Taylor have two children together. She also disclosed then that she and Taylor had lived together for five years before they split.
The woman claimed that her husband moved out of their Timehri, East Bank Demerara home in November 2019 and went to live with his girlfriend at Soesdyke. The couple reportedly separated after the wife confronted her husband about his infidelity.
However, the wife found out about her husband’s second marriage, months after he moved out, from a mutual friend. According to the woman, “de person call me and say you deh home and your husband have big wedding going on.” Shocked by the news, the woman said that she started to investigate the claims.
“I went all over to find out if there is anything I could do,” the woman said, “then a lawyer advised me to go to GPO to the Register Office and find out if they were married legally.”
As advised, the wife visited the GRO and presented her marriage certificate. She said that soon after, officials at the GRO uncovered another marriage certificate in the name of her husband and his new wife. According to the woman, the second marriage was registered in January 2020.
She said that she learned from the Head of the GRO, Mr. Louis Crawford, that a crime had been committed and that the matter would be forwarded to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Guyana Police Force. She said that she was later contacted by the department to give a statement, which she did. Subsequently, her husband was charged with bigamy and placed before the court.
Currently, there is no other public report of anyone else in Guyana being charged for committing bigamy.
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