Bogus bride who fell in love with an illegal immigrant on Facebook is spared jail

Cindy Bonsu leaving Manchester Crown court after she was spared jail

A woman who was persuaded into agreeing to marry an illegal immigrant she fell in love with on the internet has been spared jail.
Cindy Bonsu, a Dutch national, and Dennis William, who is from Nigeria, met on Facebook and formed a genuine relationship, Manchester Crown Court heard.
But the pair hastily arranged a wedding using false papers after William begged her to save him from deportation.
The couple were about to tie the knot at St Chrysostom's church in Victoria Park, near Longsight, Manchester, when UK Border Agency officials intervened.
The paperwork had aroused suspicions and Miss Bonsu raised eyebrows by changing into her dress and doing her hair with straighteners after arriving at the church.
The 20-year-old and her prospective groom were arrested alongside his 22-year-old friend Ganiyu Ajao - another illegal immigrant who was going to witness the wedding knowing it had been arranged using false documents.
William, 26, had used utility bills with a bogus address to claim he and Miss Bonsu were living together. In reality, she lived in Barking, London, and he was sharing a house with Ajao in Worsley, Salford.
Bonsu and William also signed documents at the church which indicated they lived together.
Both William and Ajao had entered Britain using visas with fake names, Joanne Rodikis, prosecuting, told the court.
Bonsu, Ajao and William all admitted assisting in unlawful entry. William also admitted having a false driving licence.
Judge Anthony Gee QC, sentencing, locked up William for 15 months and Ajao for 12 months. But he spared Bonsu an immediate jail sentence after hearing claims that she had been manipulated by the man she loved.

Dennis William wooed Bonsu on Facebook then jetted in from Nigeria so the couple could marry

She was handed a seven-month suspended sentence and ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
Defending Bonsu, Saul Brody said his client was a 'victim of her own naivety and the depredations of others'.
He said: 'She is ashamed, she is certainly contrite and to some extent embarrassed at her involvement in this offence.'
Adrian Palmer, defending William, denied that his client had manipulated Bonsu, saying that it was a genuine relationship and that it hadn't been his 'primary objective' to stay in the country by marrying her.
Sentencing, Judge Gee said: 'You, William, played the leading role, you had the most to gain if you had indeed proceeded to marry Miss Bonsu you would have had a claim for residence as the spouse of an EU citizen.'
A spokesman for the UK Borders Agency said the Church of England was working with the department to stop immigration fraud.