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Man Accused of Marrying 4 Women Pleads Guilty to Bigamy

A man accused of being married to four women has pleaded guilty to bigamy in New Hampshire but will avoid jail time if he behaves for the next five years

A former Maine man accused of being married to four women has pleaded guilty to bigamy in New Hampshire but will avoid jail time if he behaves for the next five years.

Authorities allege that 43-year-old Michael Middleton of Old Orchard Beach married women in Georgia, Alabama and New Hampshire between 2006 and 2013. That led to the bigamy charge in New Hampshire, but court documents say he also married a fourth woman in Kentucky in 2016.

According to the Journal Tribune, prosecutors said Middleton would marry women in order to drain their assets before leaving them.

In court Monday a prosecutor read a statement from the New Hampshire victim, Alicia Grant, who said she thought she was gaining a life partner but ended up with six years of pain and misery.

"I mourn the person I was before I met him every day," she wrote, according to the Portland Press Herald.

Middleton didn't speak at the hearing but said after he felt compassion and understanding for her. He said he thought the sentence was "a good outcome."

He was given a 12-month suspended sentence. In New Hampshire, bigamy carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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