Hi everyone, today we are gonna talk about a case of child marriage.

Firstable we have to understand what is a child bride or a child

marriage, Child Marriage is defined as a marriage of a girl or boy
before the age of 18 and refers to both formal marriages and
informal unions in which children under the age of 18 live with a
partner as if married.

Child marriage violates children’s rights and places them at high risk
of violence, exploitation, and even abuse.

Today we are gonna talk about an specific child bride case about a
man jailed for 'marrying' 12-year-old girl in backyard ceremony.

In Australia children under the age of 18 are not able to give

permission to marry, unless they are 16 or 17 and have permission
from a Court. Forced child marriage is when someone under 18 is
forced to get married and this is illegal in Australia. This includes being
forced to go overseas to get married. This means that the person who
is forcing someone to get married has broken the law and might be
punished.

SO, A Lebanese man was "determined" to marry a 12-year-old girl he

saw in a mosque, despite being told it was illegal.

The 27-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was

sentenced to a maximum 10 years' jail in the Downing Centre District
Court in Australia, after pleading guilty to the persistent sexual abuse
of a child.

Judge Deborah Sweeney said the man, who arrived in Australia on a

student visa in June 2013, asked two religious leaders at a Hunter
Valley mosque to arrange the marriage. They declined, clearly telling
him it was illegal.

Undeterred, the man embarked on a "determined and deliberate

pursuit of the girl" and with the help of one of her relatives, organized
for a ceremony to take place at a private home on January 12, 2014.
In setting a non-parole period of seven-and-a-half years, Judge
Sweeney said "neither his cultural or religious beliefs excuse his
offence to the little girl"