Woman in Boardman reports husband married another woman

By Ashley Luthern

aluthern@vindy.com

BOARDMAN

Bigamy might seem to some people like an antiquated law, as offenses rarely occur.

Just last month, however, Boardman police took a report from a woman who said her husband married another woman.

On Jan. 13, a 30-year-old woman from Harmony, Pa., told police that she married the man on March 5, 2004, in New Brighton, Pa. and that the two are still married.

Police said the woman recently learned that her husband had married another woman in Mahoning County. The ceremony took place at Forever Yours Wedding Chapel, 1714 Boardman-Poland Road, on Jan. 9, 2010, according to records.

Documents also state that the man did obtain a marriage license, with the application filed through Mahoning County Probate Court.

Bigamy is a first-degree misdemeanor offense under Ohio law, punishable by a maximum of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The law was changed in 1974 by the Ohio General Assembly to make bigamy a first degree misdemeanor rather than a felony, according to Anderson’s Ohio Criminal Law Handbook.