British court hands serial bigamist suspended sentence



LONDON - A former model who wed five men without divorcing any of them was handed a suspended jail sentence Monday by a British court after being charged with bigamy.
Emily Horne, 30, married four men by the age of 23, changing her name on marriage certificates to avoid detection, a court in Manchester heard.



British court hands serial bigamist suspended sentence
Horne, a former glamour model who had roles in adult movies, only told husband number five that she was already married when they set off on their honeymoon in 2007.
Judge Mushtaq Khokhar described Horne as a "manipulative woman" who had "undermined the institution of marriage".
But the judge said he had decided not to jail her because she had made progress in the last six months since being prescribed medication for a personality disorder.
Horne, who has bipolar disorder, was handed a 10-month suspended prison sentence, after admitting to bigamy at an earlier court hearing.
"I am feeling great. I have been vindicated," Horne, who has a new partner, said outside court. She added: "I think next time I should get a divorce."
Her lawyer, Paul Hodgkinson, told the court that Horne was sorry for the hurt she had caused her husbands, but that her mental health had impaired her decision making.
"She is an attention seeker and she is a lady with emotional problems but she has had to put up with a great deal of trauma in her life," he said.
"She is sorry for what she has done and she is sorry for the pain she has caused to the men and their families."
The court heard Horne wed for the first time in York in northern England on her 18th birthday in 1996, to a soldier who was posted overseas.
On his return he discovered she had left him for a banker, and married again in 1999. But Horne left him for a website designer and they tied the knot in December 2000.
Police cautioned her for two offences of bigamy in 2001. But a year later she wed again. The police were alerted and she was given a six month sentence.
Horne, whom the court heard had been physiologically affected by the death of her sister, married husband number five in September 2007 after knowing each other for four months. Police were called in after the couple split.
Detective Constable Colette Kelleher, of Greater Manchester police, said Horne had betrayed the love and honesty the men bestowed on her.
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Monday, July 27th 2009
AFP
           


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