Married woman pleads guilty to civil partnership charges

By Staff Writer, PinkNews.co.uk • July 9, 2007 - 14:32

Ms Mitchell, a mother of three children, denied the charges at an earlier magistrates hearing in March.

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A married woman admitted to a court this morning that she made a false statement to a registrar, after she illegally entered into a civil partnership.

Suzanne Mitchell appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court before Judge Robin Onions, who chastised her for giving a press interview about her story.

The case was adjourned and sentencing will take place next month.

The 29-year-old lives in Wingfield Gardens in Shrewsbury.

Ms Mitchell, a mother of three children, denied the charges at an earlier magistrates hearing in March.

She entered into a civil partnership in February 2006 with Caroline Beddowes,24, while still married to a man.

She has now left her lesbian lover and returned to her husband.

It is thought to be the first case of its kind since civil partnerships became legal in December 2005.

The charge of making a false statement to a registrar is not the same as bigamy, where a person enters into a marriage while still already married to another person.

A person guilty of an offence of making a false statement is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 7 years or to a fine, or both.

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