Nationwide — Cherry Payton, a mother from Richmond, Texas, who let her 13-year old daughter marry and suffer from sexual abuse by a 47-year old man, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Her 43-year-old mother, who was also at the medical checkup, confirmed to the doctor that her daughter was married with her consent and it is “a normal part of their religious beliefs.”
Prosecutors then found out that the girl was married with her mother’s consent for nearly a year before it came to the attention of authorities.
However, investigators did not find any records of a marriage license. Authorities believed that although it was not a legal marriage, the girl considered herself married based on religious beliefs reportedly as part of the Hebrew Israelite faith.
Evidence was also found that Payton had sexually abused the child herself years earlier under the guise of a different religion.
After investigation, Payton was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child and was sentenced to 30 years. The husband Steven Carty was also charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 42 years. They were both registered as lifetime sex offenders.
In Texas, a person must be 18-years old to be legally married. There are exceptions wherein minors who are at least 16 years old are allowed to marry with parental consent.
“Although the child victim in this case was failed by her mother time and time again, she was surrounded in the courtroom by a strong support system,” prosecutor Jessica Ramos said, according to Click2Houston. “We are grateful to her adoptive mother, her court advocate, her CASA, and the caseworkers from Child Protective Services that supported the child throughout this investigation and trial.”