Father of newborn goes to jail for sex with minor wife

// added September 03, 2009 // 32 comments //
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MotherForTruth

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http://www.russiatoday.com/Top_News/2009-05-26/Father_of_newborn_goes...

The father of a newborn girl has been sentenced to three years in prison for having sexual relations with his underage wife, who is the mother of his newborn daughter.
19-year-old Zhenya and 15-year-old Katya, still a schoolgirl, live in the provincial town of Efremov approximately 310 kilometers off Moscow. They had known each other for about a year and a half when last summer Katya learnt she was four months pregnant. At the time Zhenya had no idea that Katya had in fact lied about her age and told Zhenya she was 17.

“When we met I told Zhenya I was almost 17. In fact I was two years younger. I lied because I liked him very much, but I was afraid he wouldn't go out with me if I told him my real age. He only found out after I got pregnant,” Katya says. The girl’s mother recalls that the news was a shock for her: “I knew she was dating Zhenya but did not think they had intimate relations,” she told journalists.

When the lovers’ parents met to discuss the situation, Katya and Zhenya told them that they loved each other and wanted to live together and bring up their child.
Soon, Katya’s parents obtained permission for the marriage of their underage daughter, which took place in January 17 this year. Two weeks later Katya gave birth to little Ksenia, who was born two months premature. Relatives say Zhenya was looking forward to the birth of his daughter and was very anxious during the delivery. The young family settled in Zhenya’s one-bedroom apartment. He found a job as a welder while his wife resumed her studies at school. Relatives of the newborn took care of her while the teenage mother was out, but what seemed to be a happy end to the love story was only the beginning of an ordeal.

Police contacted Zhenya, informing him that he was charged with having sexual relations with a person under the age of 16. The court then sentenced him to three years and one month in jail. “After the hearing Zhenya left the courtroom and looked at his daughter for a long time, caressing her cheek. All the family was crying,” the relatives said. “He loves little Ksenia so much. What is his fault? They made love because they both wanted to. The judge has broken the life of the family.” Zhenya is now in custody in the nearby town of Novomoskovsk. His wife comes to visit him almost every day. Katya can't breast feed the baby anymore due to stress. She also has to miss outs on school lessons, because Zhenya used to babysit while she was studying. Zhenya is not allowed to see his wife, let alone his daughter. If the family loses the appeal, the young father would not only miss his baby's first steps and words, but also in three years time will become a total stranger to his little girl.

The young couple’s love has fallen victim to controversial Russian legislation. 19-year-old Zhenya is now in prison for having sex with his own wife Katya, meaning she has to take care of their baby without a father figure.

Russian law, simply put, states that you can marry an underage person with the permission of the parents, but you cannot have sex with this person. Commissioner for Children’s Rights in Moscow Aleksey Golovan has admitted that there is a discrepancy between the Family Code and the Criminal Code. “On the one hand, the girl was allowed to get married. On the other hand, law forbids sexual relations with a person under 16,” he said, adding “In this particular case, special circumstances should have been taken into account.” The family believes the young couple did not receive proper legal protection.

Boris Altshuler is a children's rights expert and says cases like this one should be inspected on an individual basis, rather than simply following the law. He says the prosecutors used this case heartlessly for their own interests. For prosecutors it’s just a good report for their chiefs – they did a good job and have exposed a crime.
  1. groups:
    Women,   Law and Justice
  2. tags:
    Women,  Law,  People,  Men,  2 more

32 comments // Father of newborn goes to jail for sex with minor wife

  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  

    • You see but you do not observe. -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

      Well soberwood, believe it or not, the better answer to your assertion, I find, is, simply:

      No.

      The birth of Jesus was a miracle akin to the historical fact of the Big Bang (that theory where In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded) and preceded by the miracle of John the Baptist's birth in rather canny fulfillment of predictive scripture. It's no real suprise to me that science itself relies on those kinds of "predictive powers" as well to serve any "higher" purpose.

    • 5 months ago
  • soberwood
  • regjoeschmo
    • 0
      regjoeschmo  

    • echoz, how were these polls taken?? How many kids were honest for them?? I remember answering these types of questions and lieing on em....

    • 5 months ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • regjoeschmo:

      Apparently, regjoeschmo, at least some, or all, were Gallup polls. if you merely follow the links I've taken care to provide, I'm sure your questions will be answered with a little of your own effort. As regards your lying, I'm sorry you feel safer to assume that for so many others. How many Gallup polls have you participated in? Quite a few? hmmm. Irregardless of your experience, I seriously doubt it invalidates the information in any highly significant way as these polls usually come out with a tentative +/- margin of error anyway. It's all taken with a grain of salt...

    • 5 months ago
  • regjoeschmo
    • 0
      regjoeschmo  
    • regjoeschmo:

      I was pointing out the fact that polls are misleading at best because they cannot represent the public as a whole.... +/- margins are based on probability factors, but hardly brings any of them closer to being factual.....

    • 5 months ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • regjoeschmo:

      misleading at best? you wouldn't stick your neck out that far into the noose would you, when I've been known to cinch some irreversibly for less? ;)~ hehe just kidding! but, misleading to what? It's insightful information but if it's saying anything falsely I wonder what that is. I guess I didn't find that it was pretending to be anything than just what it is. *shrug* perhaps more disturbing for some would be that marriages and families that stay together DO much better on the whole it seems? Or that religious and or spiritual views also possibly make a positive influence for the better as well? Perhaps those things are quite disturbing and "misleading"??? ;)~ Yeah. Quite. Not.

    • 5 months ago
  • regjoeschmo
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • Image...

    • Bottom Line [regarding teens and risky behavior]

      Some parents may try to lull themselves into a false sense of security about their children's association with risky behaviors. Others may have exaggerated fears about the chances their kids could wind up in rehab before they get to college. In either case, information about the true pattern of substance abuse among teens is probably helpful.

      The Gallup data confirm the importance of stable families to warding off peer pressure. Religious faith, whether alone or in tandem with a nuclear family, may also help. At the same time, the data suggest that, while "going steady" may have been a wholesome venture for the merry band of high school students on Happy Days, it can perhaps hasten one's sense of maturity -- or at least be associated with an inflated sense of maturity. And wanting to feel "grown up," according to some research, is the real driving force behind the attraction of these risky activities.

    • 5 months ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • Image...

    • "We find that most teens have positive views of marriage and most expect to marry some day. In addition, a growing proportion of teens indicate that they approve of cohabitation before marriage and would prefer to marry later in life. Consistent with these trends, when we track a recent cohort of teens into early adulthood, we find that relatively few of them are married in their early 20s and that cohabitation is more common than marriage for this age group. These patterns will undoubtedly change as this cohort progresses through adulthood and more of them enter serious romantic relationships and marriage. Future research could examine how the long-term marriage and relationship patterns of today’s young adults will differ from previous generations, as well as how attitudes, expectations, and circumstances during adolescence influence relationship patterns in adulthood."

    • 5 months ago
  • echoz
    • 0
      echoz  
    • Image...
    • echoz:

      this graph as noted is informative as well, also from the aspe.hhs.gov site:

      "Patterns of teen dating and sexual activity vary across racial and ethnic groups. White teens are somewhat more likely to date than other teens are, whereas African American teens are somewhat less likely. Sexual activity follows a different pattern. Among teens in our sample, 41 percent of whites and 45 percent of Hispanics reported having had sex, compared with 59 percent of African American teens.

      The likelihood that high school students date regularly has declined in recent years. The percentage of high school seniors who said they date has dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 73 percent in 2006. The likelihood of sexual activity also fell somewhat in recent years-although less dramatically than the likelihood of dating. In 1991, 67 percent of 12th graders reported they had ever had sex, compared with 63 percent in 2005. A clearer trend emerges for all teens in high school. In 1991, approximately 54 percent of high school teens reported having had sex, compared with 47 percent in 2005. This larger decline in sexual activity for all high school students relative to 12th graders alone suggests that some teens may be delaying sexual activity until later in high school."

    • 5 months ago
  • Abraham99
    • 0
      Abraham99  

    • The dumb and immature judge should go to jail for being such a poor enforcer of justice.
      Terrorists get more compassion than these innocent kids. Shame on the courts!!!! Shame on that judge!!!!!

    • 5 months ago
  • 2helenahandbasket
  • dariusvons
  • MotherForTruth
  • jubal
  • MotherForTruth
    • 0
      MotherForTruth  
    • jubal:

      I agree. In US this young man would spend 20 years in prison and be on sex offender registry for life. His young wife would not be able to continue her education instead develop a dependency on government subsidy without any potential to improve her and the baby's future.
      The baby girl would grow up without her loving father. And as many studies confirm girl's self-esteem is developed by a father figure.
      The private prison would get a guarantee of federal $ for a new inmate. Did I miss anything?

    • 5 months ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • Image...
    • jubal:

      Nope, that sounds like the wrap. These types of laws need to be changed. We need a comprehensive overhaul of family law. We need to take another look at what constitutes a legal age.

      Why is it that children can be tried as adults when it comes to crime but they can't be treated as adults when it comes to consensual sex between minors? Why is it that minors can be sent off to war and kill LEGALLY, but cannot have a beer LEGALLY?

      I have a plan, and I have put my plan to paper. If you want to check it out it can be found at the link above.

    • 5 months ago
  • MotherForTruth
    • 0
      MotherForTruth  
    • jubal:

      Thank you for sharing your writing. Our policy makers except bribes/donations and return "favors". In fear of loosing the support most politicians simply hold tight to their comfortable position instead of resolving real issues. It takes a real leader not a politician to make needed changes.

    • 5 months ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • jubal:

      FDR was one such leader with his "New Deal". Many Americans hated him for that, but it improved life for many a senior and single mom.

      We need reform so that the new deal strengthens the role of the father in the family.

    • 5 months ago
  • nursediesel
    • 0
      nursediesel  

    • This is a sad situation. The government would not have known of the age difference if the couple hadn't 'done the right thing'.
      That should have been considered in his sentencing hearing.
      Ok, so he's guilty of sex with his minor wife; before and after the marriage. They are taking care of their situation together. The circumstances that she lied to him, they did get married with the government/parents consent, he's working to care for the family and she is finishing scjool... They have rectified the situation, all should have been considered at the hearing.. The groom should have been found guilty but sentenced to probation with work privileges at the least, so he can care for and be with his family where he belongs!!!!!

    • 5 months ago
  • Nettle
    • 0
      Nettle  

    • Hate to say it, but shame on the girl for lying about her age and getting preggers. And I wonder if they know that they were having illegal sex before they were married too.

      I don't think the father should be imprisoned though. The girl is too young to raise the baby without the support of her husband and it could break the family.
      :(

    • 5 months ago
  • lj111
  • regjoeschmo
    • 0
      regjoeschmo  

    • Russia is not so far behind us in terms of life expectancy and such..... These laws even in the united states cause such problems. The ages are close enough to warrant discretion in favor of the relationship, but still people get prosecuted even here for smaller age differences and are labeled for the rest of their lives. As pointed out earlier the girl admits she lied about her age... still it is ultimately the boys fault......

    • 5 months ago
  • Abraham99
    • 0
      Abraham99  

    • This is a tragedy.
      These two did the right thing by getting married instead of the usual abortion route or the boy running away.
      Yet, in spite of that, the dumb government has no heart.
      Shame on that court and that judge.
      It could have been a great show of Russian mercy leading to a grand display of Russian justice. The publicity would have been great for Russia.
      Instead, the authorities messed it up and acted like heartless fools.

    • 5 months ago
  • hollyMiamiFla
  • yvesisaki
  • pjacobs51
  • SHAWN_RITTIMAN
  • MotherForTruth
    • 0
      MotherForTruth  

    • ...there is a discrepancy between the Family Code and the Criminal Code. “On the one hand, the girl was allowed to get married. On the other hand, law forbids sexual relations with a person under 16,”

    • 5 months ago
  • divinorum
    • 0
      divinorum  

    • I understand why these laws are in place, to protect minors, but if she ADMITS that she lied about her age the sentence should be reduced at least. The man was under 18 and unaware of her age, I think that counts for something.

    • 5 months ago
  • maof4brats
  • maof4brats
    • 0
      maof4brats [removed]  

    • In alot of cultures it is normal to get married and have children very young, It's just because women in those cultures don't live for a long time. not lke the U.S. So i don't think he should have been no term at all.

    • 5 months ago

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