A civil servant from Northampton has been convicted of bigamy after marrying a woman while already wed to another he met on the internet.
Mirko Rados, of Second Lane in St James, tied the knot with Peruvian bride Yolanda Gomez Carrasco at Northampton's Guildhall, but failed to declare he was still married to a Colombian woman at the time.
The 35-year-old had married Marisol Atencia in her home country two years earlier, after the pair struck up a relationship via an internet chat room.
But she fled the marital home soon after the pair returned to the UK, leading her estranged husband to wrongly assume the marriage was void.
Rados, who works for the Ministry of Defence in London, pleaded guilty to bigamy while appearing at Northampton Magistrates' Court, having earlier denied the charge.
Russell Eaton, defending, said the change of plea was prompted by the prosecution obtaining documents proving Rados's Colombian marriage was genuine.
He said: "It has always been for the Crown to show the marriage in Colombia was valid. That information has been provided and my client's plea is now, 'guilty'."
The court heard Rados returned to Northampton with his first wife in January 2006, eight months after their marriage.
"She came back here on a spouse's visa and sought indeterminate leave to remain in the country. But the marriage broke down very quickly and she disappeared," Mr Eaton said.
"Mr Rados thought the marriage had not been valid in the first place and he therefore continued with his life."
Rados began his relationship with Miss Carrasco after meeting her during a holiday in Peru and they were married at the Guildhall last May.
Although he signed a declaration claiming he was single, inquiries revealed his previous marriage was still valid and he was arrested.
He was punished yesterday with a two-year conditional discharge and was ordered to pay [pounds sterling]75 towards prosecution costs.
Presiding magistrate Mabel Lilley said: "This is a very serious matter and you acted very stupidly, even though it was a complex situation."
Despite his conviction, Rados and Miss Carrasco remain a couple and she is expecting their first child in June, the court was told.
ed.omara@northantsnews.co.uk
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