A 78-year-old Titusville man has been convicted of bigamy and has been handed an 18-month conditional sentence for being married to two women at the same time.

Robert Cassidy sat in a wheelchair in a Saint John courtroom on Tuesday for his sentencing.

The 78-year-old man pleaded guilty in May to a bigamy charge for marrying Titusville resident Doris Martin in November 2012.

At that time, he was already married to another woman in Ontario.

Martin has said Cassidy became very controlling after they married.

She said in her victim impact statement that she felt manipulated by him and he made purchases she wouldn't otherwise have made.

The court heard that Cassidy has been married four times and two of those marriages were illegal.

Cassidy served three months in jail for bigamy in 1975.

Provincial Court Judge Andrew LeMesurier said it was the first bigamy case he's dealt with and seeing a second-time offender was "very unusual."

He said he believed Cassidy had financial motives and he preyed on Martin.

However, LeMesurier gave Cassidy the suspended sentence after taking into account the man’s guilty plea, his age and poor health.

Cassidy will serve the suspended sentence at his current residence at Yvonne's Special Care Home in Titusville under the conditions that he keep the peace and attend any suggested counselling.

Cassidy is also not allowed to be left alone with any female residents.