underage marriage

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Prosecutors: Here's How R. Kelly Married Aaliyah, 15

Singer, others accused of bribing public official in Illinois to get fake ID for her

(Newser) - R. Kelly is facing a new federal charge tied to his marriage to the late singer Aaliyah, his teenage protege, who was just 15 at the time. Federal prosecutors in the eastern district of New York say Kelly, then 27, and others bribed a public official in Illinois to create...

Virginia Looks to Bar 12-Year-Olds From Marrying

If law passes, kids under 16 can no longer wed, even if pregnant and with parents' OK

(Newser) - Although laws in Virginia state the minimum age to wed is 16, the fine print reveals a more disturbing picture: Much younger kids may be able to marry with parental permission and if the girl is pregnant, leading to extreme cases in which youngsters not even in their teens have...

Florida Moves to Ban Under-16 Marriages

Rep. cites case of 13-year-old groom

(Newser) - Floridians too young to drive should be considered too young to get married, even if they're not too young to have made a baby, a Florida lawmaker says. Rep. Cynthia Stafford, a Democrat, has introduced a bill to scrap a law that allows people 15 or younger to marry...

Oops: Did Warren Jeffs Preach From Prison?

If so, the polygamist leader broke the rules

(Newser) - Polygamist leader Warren Jeffs may still be preaching to his sect—over the phone. "We have confirmed that Jeffs made two phone calls on Christmas Day to a relative," a Texas official tells the Los Angeles Times . "At this point, we're investigating whether he may have...

Nigeria Probes Senator's Marriage to Girl, 13

He's accused of bedding minor after $100K dowry

(Newser) - Nigerian lawmakers are accusing one of their colleagues of shaming the country by bringing a child bride back home from a trip to Egypt. Senator Eme Ufot Ekaette allegedly paid a $100,000 dowry to the parents of the 13-year-old girl, and married her in a ceremony at Nigeria's national...

Polygamist Sect Member Guilty of Sex Assault

Texas court convicts FLDS man married to underage girl

(Newser) - Jurors in the first criminal trial following the raid of a polygamist group's Texas ranch today convicted a member of sexual assault of a child. Raymond Jessop, 38, was found guilty of the charge that stemmed from his alleged marriage to an underage girl. He's the first group member to...

Yemen Right-Wingers Blocked Push to End Child Marriages

Conservatives claimed introducing minimum marriage age was un-Islamic

(Newser) - Conservative lawmakers in Yemen, where a 12-year-old girl died giving birth to her husband's child last week, shot down an attempt to set the minimum marriage age at 17 earlier this year, CNN reports. The lawmakers kept the bill from reaching the country's president by arguing that it violated Islamic...

Jail Force-Feeds Ailing Sect Leader Jeffs

'Death could be imminent' without medical intervention

(Newser) - Warren Jeffs began eating of his own accord again today, after being force-fed all weekend by medical staff at the Arizona jail where the polygamist leader is being held, the Salt Lake City Tribune reports. A series of self-imposed fasts have left Jeffs, 53, in such poor health that “...

Evangelical Leader 'Married' 8-Year-old Girl: Ex-Wife

(Newser) - An emotional ex-wife of an Arkansas evangelical sect leader testified yesterday that he forced underage girls  to "marry" and have sex with him, reports the Telegraph. The woman, who said she herself was forced into her marriage at the age of 15, said she began having serious doubts about...

Saudis May Outlaw Under-18 Marriages

(Newser) - The days of 8-year-olds getting married in Saudi Arabia may be numbered. Spurred by international hostility toward the marriage of a girl that age to a 50-year-old man, the nation is considering a ban on marriage for those under 18, Reuters reports. Such a restriction is “among the options...

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