A Father Avoids Jail After Committing Bigamy
A man has managed to avoid a prison sentence after he married a second wife without officially divorcing his first. Wayne Williams, a 45-year-old from Rowan Place, Headcorn, was found guilty of bigamy and faced legal consequences for his actions.
Williams first married Jodie Williams in 2007 in a lavish ceremony in Mauritius. However, the couple’s relationship did not last long, and they split about a year later. Despite this, Williams never went through the formal process of getting a divorce from his first wife. Instead, he went on to marry another woman, Sophie Barker, in 2019, without revealing that he was already married.
The deception came to light when Jodie decided she wanted a divorce and looked up Williams on Facebook. She discovered that he had married someone else in September 2019. Jodie then contacted Sophie, which led to the end of Williams’ second marriage. The situation was reported to the police, and Williams was eventually charged with bigamy.
Williams appeared in court in February and admitted to the offence. His sentencing was postponed to allow for a pre-sentencing report. He returned to Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on March 27 to learn his fate.
During the hearing, magistrates were told that Williams committed the offence between 2019 and 2025, when his first wife alerted the second. Rajni Prashar, the prosecutor, outlined the details of the case. She stated that Williams met Jodie in 2006 and proposed to her a few months later. They married in July 2007 in Mauritius, with witnesses present. However, the marriage was never registered in the UK, and the couple separated in 2008.
The court also heard that Williams later reached out to Jodie when she received a divorce application from him, but she never responded. He then met Sophie Barker in 2010 and proposed to her in November 2014. They married in The Orchard suite in Maidstone in 2019.
Jodie decided in 2023 that she wanted a divorce and made her own application. She contacted Williams twice but received no response. Eventually, she searched for him on Facebook and discovered that he had remarried. She then reached out to Sophie and informed her that Williams was still married. This led to the matter being reported to the police.
Sophie, Williams’ second wife, told the police that she felt shocked and betrayed upon learning the truth. She said, “I feel such an idiot, it’s such a betrayal. I walked down the aisle in front of family and I was never legitimately married to him.”
Williams claimed that he believed his first marriage had been dissolved or annulled, as he thought the blessing in Mauritius had ended their relationship. However, his solicitor, James Langridge, admitted that his client had been negligent. He noted that while the case passed the custody threshold, any sentence could be suspended, especially given Williams’ early guilty plea.
Langridge added, “This does pass the custody threshold, but any sentence could be suspended as noted in the pre-sentencing report, and he should be given credit for his early guilty plea. It was negligence on my client’s behalf. He didn’t want to cause a negative impact, but he concedes it does.”
The court also considered that Williams has sole custody of his child, who relies on him daily. If he were sent to prison, it would have a significant impact on the child’s well-being.
Magistrates agreed that the case passed the custody threshold but decided to suspend the prison term. As a result, Williams was sentenced to three months in jail, but the term was suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and attend 10 rehabilitation sessions.
In addition, Williams was required to pay a victim surcharge of £154 and £85 in court costs. He will make payments at a rate of £20 per month.
