## Facts

- Gregory Ezeonu, a Nigerian national living in New York, was indicted for rape in the first degree and rape in the second degree.
- The People alleged the complainant was 13 years old when the sexual intercourse occurred.
- At the time of the alleged acts, the defendant was already in a lawful marriage recognized under New York and Nigerian law.
- The defendant asserted that, under Nigerian law and tribal custom permitting polygamy, he contracted a second marriage to the complainant in Nigeria and brought her to New York.
- The parties submitted a stipulated pretrial question in limine: whether the purported Nigerian polygamous marriage could be recognized as a “marriage” in New York for purposes of Penal Law § 130.30’s element that the victim is “a person to whom the actor is not married.”

## Issues

1. Whether New York will recognize a polygamous marriage valid under Nigerian law as a “marriage” in New York for purposes of Penal Law § 130.30.
2. Whether such recognition would allow the defendant to claim he was “married” to the 13-year-old complainant and thereby negate the “not married” element of second-degree rape.

## Decision

- The court held that, even if valid under Nigerian law and custom, the purported second marriage was null and void in New York.
- The defendant was not “married” to the complainant within the meaning of Penal Law § 130.30.
- The defendant could not raise the purported marriage as a defense to the second-degree rape charge.

## Legal Principles

- New York generally recognizes marriages valid where contracted, but will not recognize foreign marriages that violate New York’s strong public policy.
- Bigamous or polygamous marriages are void under New York law, and bigamy is criminalized; such unions are contrary to New York public policy.
- For Penal Law § 130.30, “married” refers to a marriage New York recognizes as legally valid; a foreign polygamous marriage void in New York cannot defeat the statute’s “not married” element.
- A defendant cannot rely on a foreign-created family status that New York treats as void to avoid criminal liability under New York penal law.

## Conclusion

The court ruled pretrial that the defendant’s purported Nigerian polygamous marriage to the 13-year-old complainant had no legal effect in New York; therefore, he was not “married” to her for Penal Law § 130.30 and could not assert marriage to avoid the second-degree rape charge.


People v. Ezeonu, 588 N.Y.S.2d 116 (Sup. Ct. Bronx Cnty. 1992)