Men deny false wedding celebrant charges

Two men charged with allowing a non-registered celebrant to conduct a wedding are pleading not guilty and the case is heading for trial.

The pair had scheduled appearances in Christchurch District Court today, but they were not at court because arrangements had already been made for an adjournment to a status hearing on March 2.

That hearing indicates not guilty pleas will be entered and the case will eventually be heard as a defended hearing before a judge-alone.

The pair have been charged over the wedding of Philip Ellis, of Riccarton, and Jeanette Hardey, of Kaiapoi, which took place at the Kaiapoi Club on November 4, 2006.

Media reports have said the marriage lasted only three weeks, and Miss Hardey later died.

Geoffrey Robert Topham Hall, 55, of Pines Beach near Kaiapoi, and Maurice Manawaroa Gray, a minister, of the Christchurch suburb of Cashmere, each face two charges.

The first is that they "knowingly and wilfully made a false declaration for the purposes of the Marriage Act 1955, by stating that the marriage of Jeanette Hardey and Philip Leslie Ellis was solemnised in accordance with the Act".

The second is that they "falsely pretended to be a marriage celebrant and knowingly and wilfully solemnised the marriage".

The charges have been laid by Births, Deaths and Marriages section of the Department of Internal Affairs.

- NZPA