Perth man arrested for having too many wives

A Perth man who is alleged to have had multiple wives will face court on a bigamy charge.

The 48-year-old is accused of being separated but not divorced from his first wife when he married a second woman in July 2020.

It’s alleged he had not told her of his previous marriage, declaring on a form that he had never been validly married.

He allegedly went on to marry a third woman late last year after separating from his second wife.

Australian Federal Police began investigating after the man’s first wife, who is based in the eastern states, contacted the second wife via social media and exposed his alleged duplicity.

They say the second marriage was considered invalid in Australia because the man was still legally married to his first wife.

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

The man has also been charged with making false declarations on legal documents in relation to the second and third marriages.

He is accused of declaring he had ‘never validly married’ and signing a formal ‘declaration of no legal impediment to marriage’.

The man was arrested and refused bail ahead of facing Perth Magistrates Court on Friday.

Senior Constable Kevin Loermans said allegations of deception and bigamy were serious matters.

‘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,’ he said in a statement.

The maximum penalty for bigamy was five years imprisonment, the federal police said.