Pastor charged with felony bigamy

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.—A Southern California preacher has been charged with bigamy after his wife found his latest marriage records

Melvin Lynn Silas is the 55-year-old pastor of Church of the Great I Am in Bellflower. He told investigators he believed he was divorced before he married again on April 26, 2008. But his estranged wife says Silas begged her not to divorce him and she never filed court documents.

His estranged wife notified authorities after she found records on the Internet of her husband's new marriage.

Prosecutors charged Silas with felony bigamy and he has pleaded not guilty. An April 20 hearing is scheduled in Rancho Cucamonga. He's being prosecuted in San Bernardino County because he lived in Upland when he married his latest wife.

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