A WOMAN has pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates Court to bigamy.

Sarah Jane Evans, of Rosebery Close, Prenton, admitted marrying Simon Aston at Chester Register Office in June, 2014, when she was still married to Christopher Evans, whom she had tied the knot with five years earlier.

Chester Magistrates Court heard on Friday, August 23, there were no specific guidelines for the offence and it was very rare, but magistrates agreed sentencing would be kept within their powers and the case would not go to Chester Crown Court, where the range of sentencing powers was greater and more serious.

Rob Youds, prosecuting, said Mrs Evans married Christopher Evans in 2009 in the Dominican Republic and, while the marriage was never formally registered in the UK, it still counted as a legal marriage.

The couple then separated in 2013 as Mr Evans was handed a significant jail term, but they did not get a divorce, and the following year Mrs Evans married Simon Aston at Chester Register Office.

Mrs Evans was a woman of previous good character and the court heard the marriage to Mr Aston was now null and void.

Mr Youds told the court previous examples of bigamy dealt in case law included one which was deliberate and deceitful, for which the defendant got 12 months in prison, while a bigamy case more similar to this one saw the defendant receive five months in prison, later reduced to three months on appeal.

The case was adjourned until September 16 at Chester Magistrates Court for a pre-sentence report to be compiled by the probation service.

Chair of magistrates Fraser Geekie said the case had inevitably passed the custody threshold, but the report should look at options to suspend a prison sentence.

Mrs Evans was placed on unconditional bail until her next court appearance.