LINCOLN, Neb., July 27 (UPI) -- Nebraska officials have charged a 22-year-old man with rape for acts that led to him marrying his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend in Kansas.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning brought the charge of first-degree sexual assault Tuesday against Matthew Koso of Falls City, Neb., who faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
"I'm not going to stand by while a grown man has a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old," Bruning told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star.
Koso's mother, Peggy, said local prosecutors decided against bringing charges when the two married. She questioned the charge brought by the state official.
"I don't see how the state of Nebraska can say that (it is illegal). They love each other very much. They're both excited about being parents," Peggy Koso said.
The couple is expecting a baby next month.
Nebraska law bars marriages of people 16 and younger. Kansas law allows people as young as 12 to marry with parental permission, which Koso said the girl's mother gave.
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning brought the charge of first-degree sexual assault Tuesday against Matthew Koso of Falls City, Neb., who faces up to 50 years in prison if convicted.
"I'm not going to stand by while a grown man has a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old," Bruning told the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star.
Koso's mother, Peggy, said local prosecutors decided against bringing charges when the two married. She questioned the charge brought by the state official.
"I don't see how the state of Nebraska can say that (it is illegal). They love each other very much. They're both excited about being parents," Peggy Koso said.
The couple is expecting a baby next month.
Nebraska law bars marriages of people 16 and younger. Kansas law allows people as young as 12 to marry with parental permission, which Koso said the girl's mother gave.
