Fri | Apr 19, 2024

St Catherine man pleads guilty to bigamy

Published:Wednesday | January 16, 2019 | 12:00 AM

A St Catherine man, who served his wife a forged divorce certificate before marrying another woman, has pleaded guilty to bigamy.

Andray Dorma initially pleaded not guilty before the Home Circuit Court on Monday but reversed his decision on Wednesday after his attorney engaged prosecutors in plea negotiations.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 15.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.

According to the evidence in the possession of prosecutors, the forged certificate used by Dorma was obtained in 2012 when a fraud scheme was uncovered at the Supreme Court registry.

Lead prosecutor Adley Duncan, in outlining the case, revealed that Dorma was married for six years and that the union produced two children.

However, in 2012, the Linstead resident obtained a fraudulent decree absolute - the official divorce certificate produced by the court - and served it on his wife.

According to prosecutors, Dorma's wife noticed "some irregularities" on the document and reported it to the Police Fraud Squad.

Investigations conducted by the police confirmed that the document had been forged.

livern.barrett@gleanerjm.com