This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/7767199.stm
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Bigamist jailed for three years | Bigamist jailed for three years |
(30 minutes later) | |
A former church minister and policeman has been jailed for three years for bigamy and forgery. | A former church minister and policeman has been jailed for three years for bigamy and forgery. |
Roderick Sangster, 58, was convicted in his absence at Warwick Crown Court after going on the run. | Roderick Sangster, 58, was convicted in his absence at Warwick Crown Court after going on the run. |
The jury heard he married Janet Pollard, with whom he lived in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, while still married to Jill Sangster in 2004. | The jury heard he married Janet Pollard, with whom he lived in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, while still married to Jill Sangster in 2004. |
Sangster, who left both women heavily in debt, was sentenced after giving himself up earlier this week. | |
Originally from Perth, Scotland, he worked as a police officer for the Metropolitan and Grampian forces before qualifying as a Church of Scotland minister at St Andrews. | Originally from Perth, Scotland, he worked as a police officer for the Metropolitan and Grampian forces before qualifying as a Church of Scotland minister at St Andrews. |
'Dishonest motives' | |
Mrs Sangster, to whom he is still legally married, was forced to declare herself bankrupt after discovering her husband had run up a debt of £30,000. | Mrs Sangster, to whom he is still legally married, was forced to declare herself bankrupt after discovering her husband had run up a debt of £30,000. |
Ms Pollard was left with a bill for £55,000. Sangster married Janet Pollard (right) while still married to Jill Sangster | |
The women found out about one another after Mrs Sangster, of Perth, contacted Ms Pollard when she was chasing up her husband's debts. | The women found out about one another after Mrs Sangster, of Perth, contacted Ms Pollard when she was chasing up her husband's debts. |
He was also convicted in his absence of forging Ms Pollard's signature to obtain a £10,000 loan from Northern Rock. | He was also convicted in his absence of forging Ms Pollard's signature to obtain a £10,000 loan from Northern Rock. |
Judge Marten Coates told him: "You left your first wife, debts had risen to impossible levels. | |
"You left your second wife bankrupt and your third partner almost destitute. | |
"Your motives, I am sure, were dishonest from the start. | |
"Bigamy cases are rare. I think they are rare because the public has a greater regard for the institution and obligations of marriage than you do." | |
The trial was told Sangster had married Mrs Sangster in Florida on 6 August 1996 after divorcing his first wife Frances Tait, from Portlethen, Aberdeenshire. | |
He had been legally married for 25 years and had four children with her. | |
He then left his second wife in 2002 and began divorce proceedings, but they were not completed. | |
Sangster, whose last known address was the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Trinity Street, Chester, wrote a letter to Mrs Sangster in 2003 telling her she would not get a divorce. | |
He then found a job at a hotel in Evesham, Worcestershire, and started internet dating Ms Pollard, who was recovering from cancer. | |
He told her he had divorced his wife and moved in with her. |