Father guilty of turning daughter into child bride
A NEW South Wales man who married off his 12-year-old daughter has been found guilty of procuring a child for sex.
The 63-year-old father, who cannot be named, claimed he was stopping a sin by allowing the girl to get married in an Islamic ceremony at his Hunter Valley home last year.
Sydney District Court Judge Deborah Sweeney found the man was not a credible witness, and that he instructed the girl and her 26-year-old "husband" not to use contraception.
The man pleaded not guilty, saying he knew about the wedding but was una-ware of any sexual intercourse.
"His denial is difficult to believe in the circumstances and I do not believe it," Judge Sweeney said.
The girl had a miscarriage after falling pregnant and her husband has been jailed for seven and a half years. The father will remain on bail before returning to court for sentencing next month.
