Court Hears Sentencing Arguments In The Bigamy Case Of William Gonzales Bodden, Jr

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By Alric Lindsay

William Gonzales Bodden, Jr appeared before Justice Carter today, January 21, 2025, to hear matters for sentencing for bigamy. Based on the arguments presented by Senior Crown Counsel Kenneth Ferguson and defence attorney Amelia Fosuhene, it is possible that Gonzales Bodden, Jr could face a sentence of a few months in prison or a suspended sentence with no time spent in jail. Justice Carter will deliver the final outcome on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 2 pm.

Arguments from senior crown counsel

Before summarizing his submissions today, Senior Crown Counsel Kenneth Ferguson of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions recounted that Gonzales Bodden, Jr, who married Laura Powell, a Caymanian, in December 2012, committed bigamy by marrying another woman in Deerfield Beach, Florida, in March 2024.

Senior Crown Counsel explained that the Caymanian wife contacted 360 Immigration Law Group in Florida to make arrangements to move to Florida to join Gonzales Bodden, Jr.

Initially, the Caymanian wife emailed the immigration law firm, inquiring about the process involved in a plan for U.S. residency through sponsorship from her spouse, Gonzales Bodden, Jr.

Reportedly, around mid-September 2024, a legal analyst from the 360 Immigration Law Group contacted the Caymanian wife to clarify a discrepancy concerning the date of her marriage.

The Caymanian wife contacted Gonzales Bodden, Jr, about this seeming discrepancy and his response, according to her, aroused her suspicion that something was amiss.

On the night of September 15, 2024, the Caymanian wife telephoned Gonzales Bodden, Jr, and spoke to him about the issue. Following the conversation, her suspicion grew further.

The Caymanian wife conducted an online search and came up on a site called browardclerk.org, where she searched for marriage licences. When she entered Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s name and date of birth, her search revealed a marriage licence indicating that he was married to another woman on March 14, 2024.

Subsequently, the Caymanian wife reported the matter to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

On December 8, 2024, Gonzales Bodden, Jr was arrested at the Owen Roberts International Airport and informed of the report made against him by his Caymanian wife, Laura.

Senior Crown Counsel explained that when Gonzales Bodden, Jr was interviewed under caution, he confirmed he was married to Laura Bodden (nee Powell). However, Gonzales Bodden, Jr explained that they were separated and that he had been asking her for divorce since 2018.

After outlining the foregoing, Senior Crown Counsel turned to suggested sentencing for Gonzales Bodden, Jr.

Senior Crown Counsel noted that the maximum sentence for bigamy under the Penal Code is five years. He added that, for a similar offence on indictment under section 57 of the Offences Against The Person Act of 1861, the maximum sentence is seven years.

Regarding sentencing guidelines, Senior Crown Counsel noted that no specific guidelines for bigamy existed in the Cayman Islands.

Given that no sentencing guidelines exist in the Cayman Islands, Senior Crown Counsel gave examples of UK cases.

One example was R v James Smith, where it was held that a custody sentence should be passed if the innocent party suffered some injury as a consequence. It is understood that the party received 6 months in prison in that case, which was later reduced to 2 months after the sentence was appealed.

Another example Senior Crown Counsel gave was the UK case of R v Barrington. In that case, the defendant received 9 months in prison, with four months suspended.

Senior Crown Counsel also asked the court to consider the impact on Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s Caymanian wife.

Based on the victim impact reports, Senior Crown Counsel said that the Caymanian wife intends to seek therapy for her distress.

Looking at aggravating factors that could increase the sentence, Senior Crown Counsel said that Gonzales Bodden, Jr dissipated matrimonial property in the United States by representing that he was a single man without the knowledge and consent of the legitimate Caymanian wife.

Senior Crown Counsel added, “This, of course, would have been property that may have been apportioned according to existing Cayman law at the party’s petition for divorce. “

In terms of mitigating features, Senior Crown Counsel noted that Gonzales Bodden, Jr admitted to the offence from the time of his interview with caution, of course, when confronted by the documentary evidence of the Florida marriage licence.

Defence counsel submissions

Arguing on Gonzales Bodden, Jr‘s behalf, defence counsel Amelia Fosuhene noted that, had she seen the victim impact report before she delivered her submissions, she would have provided the court with significantly more information, particularly in relation to what really occurred.

Before the defence counsel got into the details, she suggested that the hurt referred to in the victim impact report was all the publicity stemming from the case rather than from Gonzales Bodden, Jr.

Defence counsel added that the family of the Caymanian wife waited outside the airport with “cameras in hand to record what they thought was going to be my client being dragged out of the airport.”

Defence counsel continued:

They then corresponded themselves with CMR to publicise this issue.

The embarrassment, the shame and the embarrassment. Well, that’s come from everybody knowing about it. And the reason why everybody knows about it is because before the matter even came to court, it was on Cayman Marl Road. And the reason it was all Cayman Mile Road was because of family members of Mrs. Bodden.

Defence counsel concluded:

So to try and lay all of the blame at the door of Mr Bodden, I’m afraid, is somewhat unfair.

Defence counsel then explained that the truth was that Gonzales Bodden, Jr requested a divorce from his Caymanian wife on several occasions.

Defence counsel added:

And the response from Mrs. Bodden was that if he did that or spoke about it to her further, she would commit suicide.

Defence counsel suggested that there were WhatsApp messages about the divorce in November 2023, which evidenced Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s requests for a divorce.

Regarding Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s alleged sale of matrimonial property in Florida, the defence counsel explained that it was property held solely in Gonzales Bodden, Jr.

Turning to sentencing recommendations, defence counsel acknowledged that Cayman has no sentencing guidelines for bigamy.

Defence counsel said, however, that the cases presented by Senior Crown Counsel related to circumstances different from Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s case.

Defence counsel, therefore, referred to a more recent UK case called Ballot where a defendant was convicted of bigamy.

Defence counsel said, “Notably for the offence of bigamy, he only got three months and that’s three months after the trial.”

Defence counsel added that unlike the cases presented by Senior Crown Counsel, Gonzales Bodden, Jr did not commit bigamy with the intention of circumventing any immigration law or for financial gain. As such, the circumstances of Gonzales Bodden, Jr’s case should be distinguished from such cases.

Defence counsel concluded:

This is not a case that passes a custody threshold. All of the circumstances of the offence and the offender in my submission dictate that this case does not pass custody threshold.

Maybe the question remains then, what sentence? Because, of course, there are consequences that Mr. Bodden will face as a result of his guilty plea and as a result of there being a conviction in the court.

Whether it’s a conviction that remains on his record or one that does not. He is a pilot who has to fly through a number of international airport. Of course, convictions as they stand, mean that somebody with convictions may not get and is unlikely to get the security clearances that they need to pass through airports in the way that they need to. He runs the risk of losing his job if a conviction is recorded against his name. With the loss of a job comes a significant inability to cater for his children.

He’s simply asking that the court consider all of his children, his responsibilities when passing the sentence.

Sentencing decision

After hearing from Senior Crown Counsel and defence counsel, Justice Carter said she needed time to consider the submissions and the cases referred to in court.

Justice Carter is expected to deliver a sentencing judgment on Thursday, January 23, 2025, at 2 pm.

Note to readers:

For more background details of the bigamy case, please see the below links:

Caymanian Airline Pilot Accused Of Having A Wife In Florida And A Wife In Cayman. Summary Court Refuses To Grant Him Bail, Deeming Him A “Flight Risk”