BIGAMY CHARGE

Evening Star, Issue 20672, 20 December 1930, Page 13

BIGAMY CHARGE

NAVAL STEWARD CONVICTED THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT [Per United Press Association.] AUCKLAND, December 19. A man. wlio married a young woiiian in Dovouport last Juno when bo bad a wife in England. was sent to gaol I, 01 ' tilroo years when ho appeared lor .sentence before Mr Justice (Smith in tbo Supreme Court to-day. The prisoner was George Lionel Allen, aged twenty-five, a steward, lor whom Air Schramm appeared. 1 “Immediately alter tbo offence tbo prisoner deserted from tbo New Zealand division of the Navy.” -said Mr Schramm, “ in orucr to coyer up Ids present offend*. Ho had been in tbo Navy for seven ■sears, and bad come out to New /'calami on ono of tbo warships from Jin gnu id. .(for bis desertion lie had been sentenced to ninetv d :, vs’ imprisonment. fi'lio fact that ho bad married in Nmw Zealand became Known to tbo naval authorities when bis second wifo made a claim on bis pay. In the period be bad lived with liis second wifo bo bad treated her well, and counsel asked the- comt to mako tbo • sentence as light as possible. His Honour described it as a deliberate offence ol bigamy. Apparently the wifo in England wrote several times a week, and their was no reason whatever for the prisoner to believe that she was dead. Notwithstanding that, ho deliberately married a woman in Devonport. and did her a cruel wrong, as ho must now realise. In passing a sentence of three years imprisonment, wdh hard labour, ills Honour said the circumstances were such that the sentence must he a deterrent.