Two men charged with illegally marrying a man and woman in 2006 have been ordered to make reparations to the couple.
Geoffrey Robert Topham Hall, of Pines Beach, Kaiapoi, a 55-year-old funeral director, and the Reverend Maurice Manawaroa Gray, a 53-year-old minister from Cashmere, were jointly charged with falsely pretending to be a marriage celebrant and knowingly making a false declaration: the signing of the marriage papers.
The pair were sentenced in Christchurch District Court today.
Hall was convicted and ordered to pay fines, costs and reparations of $12,750 on the two charges, while Gray was discharged without conviction and ordered to pay costs and reparations of $4250.
