Lenoir City man pleads guilty to bigamy

LENOIR CITY (WATE) - A Lenoir City man charged with marrying a woman while he was still married to another pleaded guilty Wednesday to bigamy.

John Western Standridge III was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days, but it's a suspended sentence because he was granted judicial diversion.

Standridge must pay a $250 fine and have no contact with Melanie Smith, who he married on January 1, or he'll have to serve his time.

Smith said she met him when they were teenagers, but only dated him for a month before they married.

While Smith was pregnant with twins she said things went sour and she looked into getting a divorce.

That's when she learned Standridge was still married to Jessica Standridge, although they had filed for divorce in December 2009