A babysitter who married a Nigerian immigrant in a sham ceremony has been jailed for six months.
Emma
Louise Evans, 35, wept in the dock at Burnley Crown Court as she was
sentenced for her false wedding with Nigerian Kazeem Kolade at Blackburn
Register Office in 2012.
She was jailed for six months by a judge who told her the crime 'struck at the heart of the immigration system'.
Kolade has since disappeared and the 'authorities have not yet caught up with him' the court heard.
Judge
Jonathan Gibson jailed Evans, who had no previous convictions, and
said:
'Offences of this kind strike at the heart of the immigration system and the message must go out to all those thinking of engaging in this kind of behaviour that the punishment will severe.'
'Offences of this kind strike at the heart of the immigration system and the message must go out to all those thinking of engaging in this kind of behaviour that the punishment will severe.'
Evans,
a babysitter, of Burnley, Lancashire, had never denied taking part in
the sham marriage to Kolade, Burnley Crown Court heard.
But
she was able to convince prosecutors she did then not go on to
bigamously marry a second man, Stephen Akinseye, who she remains married
to, the following January.
Defence
counsel Mark Stuart was able to produce a divorce certificate, after
making inquiries with the Nigerian High Commission, to prove that the
first 'wedding' had been annulled.
The
former Accrington and Rossendale College and Fearns High student, who
has also lived in Blackburn and Bacup, had denied bigamy, and also a
third charge of taking part in a second sham marriage with Mr Akinseye
at Burnley.
Prosecutors
said the pleas were acceptable to the Crown, after legal discussions
had taken place with Mr Stuart, and further consideration of the
evidence in the case.
The
court heard how Evans been introduced to Mr Kolade, who had first come
into the UK on a student visa in 2010, via a man named 'Patrick' on
Facebook.
In March
2011 they met at the Victoria Coach Station in London. On February 22,
2012 the defendant and Mr Kolade attended a notice of intention to marry
interview, and they were married on July 2, 2012.
Prosecuting
Neville Biddel said: 'Just under two weeks later on July 15 Mr Kolade
appealed to stay in the UK, relying on the fact he was married. It was
under a sham marriage and the defendant has never tried to hide that.'
Mr Biddel
said that in a prepared statement Evans claimed she felt she was being
pressured into the marriage and didn't want to go through with it, but
he rejected that notion saying she had nearly two weeks to alert the
authorities after the intention to marry interview but chose not to.
Mr Biddel said that according to the Home Office there were between 4,000 and 10,000 sham marriages in the UK each year.
Defending, Mr Stuart said his 'vulnerable' client had been 'targeted' because she was naïve.
He said Evans had never wanted to go through with the marriage and she had been pressured in to it.
Evans
had never agreed to marry Mr Kolade for money, according to Mr Stuart,
although Mr Kolade had promised to help Evans financially.
But
he had 'lost interest' when Evans made it clear she did not want a
sexual relationship and stopped contacting her, the court was told.
Mr
Stuart said his client has suffered difficulties with her mental health
in recent months and had been referred to the mental health team by her
GP.
He said she had also had a long history with depression and low self esteem.
Mr Stuart said he believed Mr Kolade had 'still not been caught up with' by the authorities.
As
well as the custodial sentence, which had been reduced because of an
early guilty plea, Evans was also made subject to a 12-month supervision
order and must pay a £20 victim surcharge.
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