The Muslim father of a 12-year-old girl who was married off to a 26-year-old allowed the pair to be married at his home and says his daughter is heartbroken over the prospect she will never see her “husband” again.
The couple married in an Islamic ceremony at the family’s Hunter Valley home on January 12.
The father says he allowed the wedding despite not approving of the union because it was something his daughter wanted, The Daily Telegraph reports.
The 26-year-old man was arrested and charged last week with 25 counts of sexual intercourse with a child.
The girl's father said he now fears his daughter will "die" from a broken heart.
"She was crying like I have never heard before, they were telling her she couldn't see [the man] today or tomorrow or possibly forever," he said. "There's nothing I can do at the moment, I've got the feeling she might die because she's so hurt by all of this."
The couple met at a Hunter Valley mosque last year after the 26-year-old came to Australia to study at a local university.
The father said the only way the pair could be in a relationship under "my interpretation of the Koran" was if they were married.
"My daughter was not going to change her mind, I couldn't talk her out of it," he said.
"Him being 26 was not a big concern to me because I was not marrying him. I was not happy with it but it was not my decision."
The pair moved to western Sydney after the marriage.
Police were notified when the 12-year-old tried to enrol at a local high school and faced guardianship issues, according to her father.
