Dad arranged marriage for daughter, 12, with older man to stop her from premarital sex: reports

BY NICOLE HENSLEY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Wednesday, April 1, 2015, 6:50 PM

SKY NEWS
A father who arranged a marriage for his 12-year-old daughter to save her from the sin of premarital sex has been found guilty of child abuse.

An Australian father convicted of child abuse had arranged an Islamic marriage last year for his 12-year-old daughter to an older man to stop her from sinning, local reports said.

Fearing his daughter would soon become sexually active, he arranged a marriage with a then-26-year-old man, who had sex with his daughter four times at a hotel and the father's home, according to Sky News.

He believed his daughter was old enough to make decisions about marriage.

"It was stopping a sin," the father, who is not identified because his underaged daughter is the victim of a sexual assault, told investigators. "It was something I had to do."

He also coerced his daughter into not using contraceptive pills claiming it caused breast cancer.

The judge believed the father's testimony and "wasn't credible" because he knew it was against his religion. He will be sentenced on May 29, Sky News reported.

The husband is not identified either and apparently tried to protect his new father-in-law.

Their wedding ceremony was witnessed by the girl's siblings and a sheik.

nhensley@nydailynews.com
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/worl...icle-1.2170348