By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A 35-year-old man has been jailed for marrying a then-14-year-old girl in a wedding ceremony at a Noble Park mosque last year.
The man – who can’t be legally identified – is the first to be sentenced in Australia under the federal offence of marrying a person under 16.
County Court of Victoria judge Lisa Hannan said a message needed to be sent to the community that such conduct was not tolerated.
She gave no weight to an argument that child marriage was permissible in the man’s cultural background as a Rohingyan Muslim asylum seeker from Myanmar.
“It’s simply not open for any member of our community to contravene our laws out of preference for some norm or even law that has absolutely no application in this country.
“We have one set of laws that govern all that choose to live in our community. Those laws must be upheld.
“In this case, the law is designed to protect our children including from themselves and the follies of their immature decision making.
“What you did was legally wrong and morally indefensible.
“The victim was entitled to a childhood you took from her.”
The accused and his co-offender – the then-imam at the mosque – had tried to “concoct a story” to cover-up the marriage on 29 September.
The marriage was recorded in a certificate, but wasn’t photocopied for the groom because in the words of the imam: “She’s very young”.
The accused was advised to tell people that they were just having a prayer.
The groom’s family had paid $1480 of gold to the bride as part of the custom, vows were exchanged and duties of husband and wife explained during the ceremony.
“There is no doubt that it was a valid marriage … save for the victim not being of marriage age,” Judge Hannan said.
In a police interview, the man denied he knew the girl was 14 or that there was a marriage.
Judge Hannan noted the accused knew she was a schoolgirl, had seen her in her uniform and thought she was in Year 8 or 9.
One day before the marriage, he had been warned by child protection authorities about its illegality.
“Given what you knew it simply defies logic and belief that you would not have ascertained her age before the marriage, if that was not already known to you.”
The bride’s mother, who was present at the marriage, made no attempt to protect her daughter, Judge Hannan said.
“The only reasonable inference is that she actively supported the illegal marriage.”
Judge Hannan noted the accused’s early plea, his remorse, “negligible” risk of re-offending, and lack of any prior convictions.
The man was jailed for 12 months, with a six month $2000 good-behaviour bond – known as a recognisance release order.
He had already served 352 days in pre-sentence custody.
When released from jail in two weeks, he faces an “unclear” future as he’s transferred to an immigration detention facility.
The man was “stateless” having fled as part of a persecuted minority in Myanamar and could not be deported.
His bridging visa was cancelled after his recent arrest.
He will not be released from detention until issued with another visa.
In June, the co-offending imam Ibrahim Obervic, received a two year recognisance release order for solemnising the marriage.
If that order was breached, Obervic faced jail for two months.
