Facebook Wedding Pics Bring Down Polygamist

Facebook is emerging as the bane of criminals (see here), and the latest feather in the social network's cap involves a not-so-stealthy case of possible polygamy. A Michigan man was charged with polygamy after his Rhode Island wife found Facebook photos of his wedding to another woman, Michigan Live reports. Richard Leon Barton Jr. had defriended his original wife on the site, which she found puzzling; she tracked down the wedding photos by way of friends' profiles.

When Barton didn’t come home one day in 2004, his wife learned he’d been arrested, she said. After doing time for home invasion, among other crimes, he broke parole, said police, and went back to jail. He and his first wife discussed divorce, but never took action. Barton was released in 2009, but as a repeat offender, he could now face another 4 years or more behind bars. (More Facebook stories.)