Texas Mother Gets 30 Years In Prison For Letting Her 13-Year-Old Daughter Marry Man A 47-Year-Old Man

A Texas mother has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for allegedly letting her underage daughter marry a man who is 34 years older.

Last week, Cherry Payton, 43, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for allowing her 13-year-old daughter to marry a 47-year-old man. The case gained light after the teen told her doctor in 2017 that she was sexually active with “her husband,” who is 34 years her senior, KIRO 7 reports.

Payton claims she allowed her daughter to wed the older man because it aligned with their “religious beliefs,” which include her allegedly being a Hebrew Israelite. The teen and the man were married for a year prior to her doctor learning the situation, according to KIAH.

Following the doctor’s visit, law officials subsequently arrested the child’s “husband,” who was identified as 47-year-old Steven Party. In addition, during their investigation, deputies found out that there was actually never a marriage license signed off in the county. While Texas has some exceptions that would allow a child who is 16 to be married, the legal age for marriage is 18.

Payton was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child, and Carry was charged with aggravated assault of a child, KIRO 7 reports. Payton is looking at 30 years in prison, while Carry is set to serve two sentences, a 22-year sentence and a 20-year sentence for both charges. Both of them will have to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives, the news outlet reports.

Investigators say there appear to be other cases of sexual abuse that happened between Payton and her daughter. In the midst of the ongoing case, the minor was adopted.

“Although the child victim in this case was failed by her mother time and time again, she was surrounded in the courtroom by a strong support system,” prosecutor Jessica Ramos said, CBS 8 News Now reports. “We are grateful to her adoptive mother, her court advocate, her CASA, and the caseworkers from Child Protective Services that supported the child throughout this investigation and trial.”