Facebook's "People You May Know" feature is getting a strong thumbs down from a Washington state man who is now being charged with bigamy.
The trouble started when Ellenora Fulk of Tacoma, Wash., received a suggestion from Facebook that she and Teri Wyatt-O'Neill should become friends. A photo on Wyatt-O'Neill's page showed her andFulk's estranged husband, the former Alan Fulk, partaking of champagne as they stood next to awedding cake. Fulk, a corrections officer, has since changed his name to Alan O'Neill.
The spurned wife then confronted Fulk, who had left her in 2009, but had never divorced her, according to The Associated Press. Report of the incident surfaced last week after O'Neill, 41, was charged with bigamy. He could face up to a year in jail if convicted.
This isn't the first time Facebook has exposed a user living an apparent double life. In 2008, a Cleveland woman named Lynn France discovered her husband, John France, was cheating on her with another woman. Afterwards, she found pictures of her ex and his new girlfriend's wedding in Disney World. The man claimed that his wedding to Lynn France, in Italy, was never legally proper. John France later claimed that Lynn France knew about the wedding months before she saw it on Facebook.
Such cases aren't unusual. According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, more than 80% of divorce attorneys say they've seen an increase in the number of divorces using social media evidence in the previous five years.
