Man forced to pay thousands to ex-wife guilty of bigamy

By pleading guilty to the crime of bigamy, Charity Lenee Parchem admitted that she was already married to someone else when she married Mark Athans in 2017. Just down the hall in the same courthouse the day before in the Athans/Parchem divorce case, Judge Patrice McDonald wanted to hear nothing about the fact that Charity Parchem is a bigamist. Judge McDonald instead chose to punish the victim of an admitted criminal by making him pay money to the woman who committed a felony against him. Mark Athans was sentenced to five days in jail for refusing to pay his ex-wife tens of thousands of dollars in spousal support and legal fees. Athans must now make regular payments of $1,500 a month to his ex-wife and also pay for her attorney?s fees.