Grandma: Child groom to seek divorce

[brooklynite]

Friday, February 24, 2006; Posted: 1:45 p.m. EST (18:45 GMT)

GAINESVILLE, Georgia (AP) -- A 37-year-old woman who married her son's 15-year-old friend pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of statutory rape, child molestation and enticing a minor.

Before the hearing, the boy's grandmother, Judy Hayles, said he would seek a divorce.

Lisa Lynnette Clark was arrested in November. A few days earlier, she married the boy under a 1962 law that set the marrying age in Georgia at 16 but made an exception in the case of pregnancy.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/02/24/child.groom.ap/index.html
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At least Georgia isn't sullying the "sanctity of marriage" by allowing Gays to do it...

[rodeodance]

1. They (the married couple) have a child.

....She gave birth to a baby boy earlier this month. Her lawyer said the baby is being cared for by "someone else" he would not identify.

Clark did not speak during the hearing, but her lawyer, Daniel Sammons, said she was feeling anguish, depression and loss.

Sammons asked the judge if the child groom could be given the baby's white hospital bracelet as a memento. The judge denied the request, saying it violated a court order forbidding contact between Clark and the boy.

The defense attorney added that he plans to argue the couple's marriage is a shield that protects his client from the charges.

[rodeodance]

2. why call them 'juvenile? geech.

....Hayles said her grandson is expected to enroll in an intensive counseling program. He had previously bolted from a detention center only to be found later in Cleveland, Ohio. Clark allegedly contacted him while he was missing.

The wedding prompted Georgia lawmakers to revisit the state's marriage laws.

On Thursday, the Georgia House voted 142-27 to approve a proposal that would bar teens under 16 from marrying without juvenile court permission.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.