A man who married and impregnated a 12-year-old girl has been sentenced to at least seven and a half years in jail for persistent sexual abuse . Judge Deborah Sweeney said on Friday the 27-year-old Lebanese man , who can not be named , had persisted in pursuing his Australian victim despite her initial reluctance . He then 'married her ' before he sexually assaulted her on numerous occasions between January 11 and February 5 last year . The Australian girl was pregnant when her 26-year-old Lebanese husband was charged with ongoing child sex abuse . A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to at least seven and a half years behind bars . The pair held their 'wedding ' , which was allegedly arranged by her father , in the girl 's lounge room in the Hunter region in NSW , in January last year . It is alleged the man gave the child $ 500 as a wedding gift . According to the Sydney Morning Herald , the man told the court today that 'his cultural and religious beliefs does n't excuse his behaviour ' . The man , who can not be named for legal reasons , was charged with one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child , the girl was diagnosed with an ectopic pregnancy and then miscarried in February after complaining of abdominal pain . The girl , now 13 , did n't want to marry the student because of the 14 year age gap but the man bombarded her with text messages after he first laid eyes on her in a mosque in November 2013 , court papers stated . The man pleaded guilty in Burwood Local Court in October to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child , which carries a 25-year maximum jail sentence . The 27-year-old Lebanese student and the 12-year-old Australian girl spent their wedding night as a motel in the Hunter region of NSW where they had sex several times . The charge takes in 25 counts of sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 , with which the man was originally charged . He was ordered not to contact his victim for two years . Police allege the man married the Hunter Valley girl in an Islamic ceremony earlier last year . The girl 's father will face trial this year . The father , who is in his 60s , allegedly arranged the illegal marriage . The father allegedly organised his daughter 's marriage to the Lebanese immigrant because he wanted to stop her from 'committing a life of sin ' . He was charged with procuring a child under 14 for unlawful sexual activities , and being an accessory before the fact to sexual intercourse with a person under 14 . Court documents say the girl met the 27-year-old man at a mosque in November 2013 after he approached her father and asked to meet her . Police allege the young girl 's father enabled his daughter 's sexual assault by organising the unlawful marriage - including allowing them to swap phone numbers and meet three times in the family home before the ceremony . The couple spent their wedding night at a motel in the Hunter region where they had sex several times , police allege . A week after the wedding , the father asked the girl 's older siblings to put two single mattresses next to each other to make a queen size bed so the couple had a bed in the family home . The imam who performed the ceremony pleaded guilty to solemnising the marriage and was fined $ 500 . In court documents it is claimed that since the marriage the pair engaged in sexual activities on a daily basis until February when their relationship was discovered by a Centrelink worker , when the man tried to get registered as the girl ’ s legal guardian in order to obtain welfare benefits . 'The girl has expressed a strong desire to start a family with the [ then ] 26-year-old , ' the police report states . The man has had his student visa cancelled and is now living in an immigration detention centre .
A Lebanese man who ' married ' a 12-year - old girl has been sentenced . The year - old will spend at least seven and a half years in jail . He ' married ' the girl before he sexually assaulted her . The Australian girl was pregnant when the man was arrested . Their wedding was allegedly arranged by the girl 's parents .