Ex-soldier who married second woman without divorcing first wife is spared jail

30 November 2023 , 11:57

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Jason Hayter is pictured outside Norwich Magistrates Court (Image: No credit)

A former soldier who had two wives at the same time has avoided jail.

Jason Hayter, 48, lived a double life with two separate families until his lies were exposed on Facebook. A court heard Hayter met both women on dating websites and married Tracey Larkcombe in 2010 when she was pregnant with their first child. They had another child together in 2015. At the same time, he was also seeing Sara Hayter, with whom he had a child in 2014.

He then married Sara Hayter in 2016 and started a family, despite not divorcing Mrs Larkcombe. His deceit was discovered when his daughter from his second marriage messaged his first wife on Facebook. After learning about his double life, Sara Hayter contacted the police. The court heard that Hayter's actions had devastated two families, including his five children.

Hayter, 48, admitted marrying a woman while already wed (No credit)

Hayter had previously pleaded guilty to bigamy at Norwich Magistrates Court in September. He could have faced up to seven years in prison, but was given an eight week sentence, suspended for a year. "I believe everything he has said to me is a lie. I don't think he knows the truth anymore," Mrs Hayter told the court. Charles Judge, mitigating, said his 23-year military career had included active service in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.

But leaving the army in 2014 had caused an "emotional rollercoaster" and though he retrained as a paramedic, he was diagnosed with PTSD and suffered a stroke. He said his marriage in 2016 had been at a time when the 2010 marriage had broken down.

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The lawyer told the court: "There is deep regret on his behalf, particularly towards the children. This has been a very salutary lesson to him." Judge Katharine Moore, sitting at Norwich Magistrates' Court, told Hayter he'd "comprehensively deceived" those he purported to love.

She said: "You hid your previous marriage and lied during the ceremony of marriage to Sarah Hayter, rendering meaningless what should have been meaningful. You perpetrated a cruel deception, one that strikes at the heart of marriage, eroded trust and devastated families."

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Bradley Jolly