Man accused of having multiple wives after one contacted another on social media

10 February 2023 , 18:12

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The man has been arrested by police and denied bail

A man is accused of having multiple wives after one contacted another on social media.

The 48-year-old man from Perth, Australia, is accused of being separated but not divorcing his first wife when he married a second woman in July 2020 and he faces charges of bigamy.

He allegedly didn't tell the second woman and declared on his marriage form that he had never been married before.

He then went on to marry a third woman after separating from his second wife.

Australian Federal Police began investigating the first wife contacted the second via social media and exposed his alleged lies.

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The second marriage was considered invalid due to the first one.

The man hadn't declared he was already married when he tied the knot with the second woman (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

There are no allegations of bigamy in relation to the third marriage.

The man has also been charged with making false claims on legal documents in relation to the second and third marriage, where he claimed he had "never validly married" and signing a formal "declaration of no legal impediment to marriage".

The man has been arrested and was refused bail ahead of appearing in court on Friday.

The man's identity has not been released

Senior Constable Kevin Loermans, who is overseeing investigations said the allegations of deception and bigamy were serious.

In a statement he said: "This type of deception and offending has long-lasting and negative real life impacts on the victims and families involved and the AFP will ensure allegations like this are investigated fully."

The maximum penalty for bigamy is five years in prison.

In the US a girl whose dad married 12-year-old girls has admitted he kept his "family" of 132 women on a tight leash.

Sarah Thompson, 20, grew up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) in Texas, US, with her dad Warren Jeffs, the convicted rapist and polygamist.

She was part of the family, who lived together until 2012, but eventually decided to leave for a life outside the cult.

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Sarah has spoken out against her dad after she appeared in the recent Netflix series Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey.

Warren Jeffs was known to the girls as "father" who would rip families apart by taking mums away and brainwash them.

Warren, who was on the FBI's Most Wanted list, ran the cult until 2006. He was jailed in 2011 for child rape.

Charlie Jones