Afghan cleric, 60, arrested for marriage to 6-year-old; girl can only say ‘I am afraid of this man’
A creepy cleric in Afghanistan was arrested after marrying a 6-year-old girl, with the tyke so terrified she could only utter, “I am afraid of this man.”
Mohammad Karim, an Afghan cleric, 60, said he married the girl after she was given to him as “a religious offering,” Radio Free Liberty reported.
“The girl was given to me as a gift and we were married so I could raise her,” Karim said.
The alleged perv told police he never had sexual intercourse with the child, which doctors confirmed during an examination.
Taliban takes control of southern Afghanistan region
Officials said the girl avoided any physical or psychological harm, though they said has only been able to say that one chilling phrase since she was rescued.
“The girl does not speak, but repeats only one thing: ‘I am afraid of this man,’” Masooma Anwar, head of the Provincial Department of Women's Affairs said.
The cleric said the wedding happened recently during Ramadan, with about 30 to 40 witnesses, including the girl’s mother and father.
But the girl’s parents told police their daughter was kidnapped in June, denying Karim’s assertion that they approved the twisted wedding.
Fatal flood sweeps away bridal party in Pakistan
“After the parents gave their daughter to me, they said, ‘you can take her wherever you want,’” Karim said in a video posted on Radio Free Liberty’s website.