GAINESVILLE, Ga. – A woman who married the 15-year-old friend of one of her sons pleaded guilty Wednesday to statutory rape and was sentenced to nine months in jail.
Lisa Lynnette Clark, 37, was also forbidden to have any contact with her teenage husband – the alleged father of her 1-month-old son – until at least his 17th birthday. After her release, she will be on probation until 2010.
Clark was arrested in November on charges of statutory rape, child molestation and enticing a minor. A few days before her arrest, she married the boy under a 1962 Georgia law that allows children of any age to get married if the bride-to-be is pregnant. Clark gave birth on Feb. 11.
The wedding prompted Georgia lawmakers to revisit the state’s marriage laws, and in February the House voted to bar teens under 16 from marrying without juvenile court permission. The Senate has not taken up the bill.
The boy’s grandmother, Judy Hayles, has said her grandson will seek a divorce and undergo intense counseling.
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