Thanks a lot, Facebook. A Washington man pleaded guilty to bigamy after his wife learned he was married to a second woman by looking at Facebook's ‘people you may know’ notification.
Facebook status update: already married — twice.
A Washington man pleaded guilty to bigamy after his wife learned he was married to a second woman by looking at Facebook's "people you may know" notification.
The second woman's profile picture showed her with the first bride’s husband standing near a wedding cake. Alan O'Neill, a 42-year-old correction officer, pleaded guilty to attempted bigamy. He was sentenced Thursday to a year of probation.
O'Neill married his first wife in 2001. They split in 2009, but never divorced.
Attorney Philip Thornton told the judge that his client never intended to commit bigamy. "He is extremely embarrassed and remorseful," he said.
O'Neill, Thornton claims, attempted to divorce his first wife before marrying his second. O'Neill allegedly trusted a neighbor to file his divorce paperwork but the neighbor never followed through.
"I've never done anything intentionally wrong in my life," O'Neill said. He has annulled his second marriage and is in the process of divorcing his first.
His wives appear to have forgiven him. His second wife accompanied him to court; his first wife wrote him a letter of support, NBC reported.
"He just made a bad decision that hurt a few people's feelings and (brought) embarrassment to himself," she wrote.
It is uncertain whether O'Neill, who is currently on unpaid leave, will return to his job as a jailer.
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