USA – Man Charged With Statutory Rape

A report in the Kansas City Star caught my attention a while back.   Entitled “Man charged with statutory rape in ‘marriage’ to 14-year-old girl”, the report says that 23-year old Vincent Mosby (aka Salih) apparently thought he had entered into a valid marriage contract with the girl’s guardians, notwithstanding the fact that the girl was only 14 years old.

But how did this marriage contract come about?  Apparently, the girl’s mother and her stepfather thought that she was going to be sexually active with a boy around her age.  So to preempt that, they arranged for her to marry Mosby. 

Exactly who is Mosby, and how did he get chosen for this contract marriage is not known.  But what is known is that the negotiations for the marriage was led by the stepfather, who discussed the marriage with Mosby and the girl.  According to the report, the girl was strongly encouraged to agree to the marriage.  After several rounds of negotiations, the terms of the marriage contract were agreed, and Mosby went to Wal-Mart to buy a watch and ring, being the dowry requested by the girl.

But why sign a marriage contract instead of going ahead with the wedding – religious or civil.  Well, it is legally not possible for Mosby to marry this girl, as she is underaged and under Missouri law, a judge must grant an order for Mosby to marry a minor.  But Mosby didn’t apply to a court for permission to marry the girl.

Instead stepfather arranged for a religious wedding ceremony at his home on August 4. Two members of a nearby mosque came for the religious ceremony.  The religious ceremony consists basically of prayer and contract signing, but the bride was not present, as she was kept in her room upstairs. Stepfather just came up after the ceremony and pronounced her married.

Mosby didn’t waste any time.  He quickly consummated the marriage.  It is reported that they had sex 3 times in August at the girl’s place, because she did not go and stay with Mosby.

But things did not go smoothly.  The girl’s relatives heard about the so-called marriage, and they reported it to the police later that same month. Then to protect the girl from what they called sexual abuse, the relatives took her away.

Mosby didn’t take this lying down.  He issued an ultimatium to “give me back my wife in 72 hours” or else something violent would befall her family members.  Within 48 hours, someone reportedly fired 3 shots into the home of the girl’s aunt.  Fortunately no one was hurt.  Mosby denied any responsibility over the shooting.

Now Mosby has been arrested for have sexual relationship with a minor, or legally, statutory rape.  Mosby is professing innoncence.  He told police he thought it was legally alright to marry the 14-year old girl because the girl’s guardians had approved it.

What does the local Muslim community think of this case?  Mahnaz Shabbir, past president of Heartland Muslim Council said that Islam considers young people to be adult when they hit puberty, and in other countries they do marry young.  However he also added that Islam teaches followers to live by the laws of the land. So notwithstanding that the girl is considered an adult in Islam, in the United States where she resides, the law considers her as underaged and thus prohibits such marriages 

Think about it.  Are the girl’s relatives right is calling this a case of sexual abuse?  If so, why would the girl’s guardians willingly initiate and endorse this so-called contract marriage?  And didn’t Mosby know that he could go to jail for statutory rape?  What made him agree to take this underaged girl as his wife in an illegal marriage?  And is Mahnaz Shabbir right in saying that Islam teaches followers to live by the laws of the land?  If so, what were those 2 representatives from the mosque doing at an illegal marriage ceremony according to the laws of the land?

Earlier posts

Muslim Child Marriage – What Is Marriageable Age?
Syech Puji – Child Marriage Or Pedophile?
Saudi Arabia – 80 Year Old Man Marries 10 Year Old Girl
Somalia – 112 Year Old Man Marries 17 Year Old Girl
Rich Arabs pay young British Virgins For Sex