A Sydney man has been refused bail after being charged over a live-in sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
The pair were living together in Sydney’s west.
Police sources say the 26-year-old man and the girl were “married” in an Islamic religious ceremony in the Hunter region last month.
The marriage has no legal standing in Australia because of the girl’s age.
How dare the police violate that man’s religious freedom.
Police have questioned the girl’s parents and believe they had a hand in arranging the marriage.
Detective Inspector Peter Yeomans says it is a disturbing situation.
“It’s really really unusual,” he said.
“We do have sexual assaults of minors… but this type of situation where it is almost sanctioned by a family, if that ends up being the case, is a very very unusual set of circumstances to happen within NSW.”
But the NSW Minister for Family and Community services, Pru Goward, says it is not an isolated case.
“There are actually a significant number of unlawful, unregistered marriages to underage girls in NSW, particularly in south-west Sydney, western Sydney and the Blue Mountains,” she said.
Either the DI or the Minister is badly misinformed. I hope they can get together and figure out which claim is accurate.