Groom ordered to pay damages to ex-wife and mother-in-law after announcing she was no longer a virgin

A Brazilian man has been ordered to pay £15,000 in damages to his ex-wife and mother-in-law after he announced in the middle of their wedding ceremony that his bride was 'no longer a virgin', it was reported today. Jose Proenca Alves had reportedly fallen out with fiancée Vanessa Tonasse's parents because they had refused to them sleep together until after they were married. Even after the couple had tied the knot at a civil ceremony two days before the church service, the bride's staunchly-religious parents had still refused to let them consummate the marriage, he claimed.

According to guests, the groom appeared under the influence of alcohol as he arrived for the wedding at a Catholic church in Macae, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeast Brazil. Federal judge Nanci Mahfuz said: 'Mr Alves was impassive, with a miserable face, during the whole ceremony. 'When Ms Tonasse's father gave her away at the altar, Mr Alves took a long time to take her hand, which caused considerable awkwardness among those gathered. 'He never once looked at his bride and didn't say his wedding vows, replying that he'd already done that two days earlier, causing embarrassment.'

It was after the couple had been pronounced man and wife that Mr Alves turned round to the 400 wedding guests and announced his newly wedded wife wasn't a virgin as her parents believed. According to witnesses, he then verbally insulted his bride's husband and claimed that Ms Tonasse had lied to her mother and father so she wouldn't lose out on the big wedding reception her dad had promised her. 

After the outburst, Mr Alves left the church alone and the wedding party was cancelled, Rio de Janeiro's court heard. Following the disaster, the wedding was annulled. At the hearing on Monday, Judge Mahfuz said: 'Regardless of the reasons brought by the defendant, it remains proven that he acted in an offensive way which caused undeniable psychological and physical damage to the claimants, during an unfortunate and humiliating episode in the lives of all involved.'

Mr Alves was ordered to pay around £15,000 to Ms Tonasse and her mother for 'moral and material damages'. He has 15 days to appeal the sentence. Who deserves to be paid any form of compensation in this scenerio? The man or the woman? Your thoughts...