Former imam guilty of under-age marriage

A former imam has been found guilty of marrying a 14-year-old girl to a 34-year-old man at a Noble Park mosque.
Ibrahim Omerdic, 62, was the imam of the Bosnian Islamic Society and Noble Park Mosque at the time of the wedding in September last year but was later sacked, Melbourne Magistrates’ Court heard.
His licence to perform marriages has since been revoked.
Magistrate Phillip Goldberg said on Thursday that evidence showed Omerdic had used the text he normally used in a marriage ceremony and wore robes even though he knew people could not be married under the age of 18.
Omerdic claimed that he did not recognise the couple to be a true husband and wife but that they were just in love and that the marriage wasn’t formalised under Australian law.
He also said that he thought the girl was 17 although he had not seen her identification.
However, Mr Goldberg found that Omerdic didn’t issue the pair with a marriage certificate because he was concerned about being detected by the authorities.
“The evidence is compelling. The accused performed a ceremony which constitutes a marriage,” the magistrate said.
Omerdic is due to return to court for a pre-sentence hearing on 21 June.