Nebraska Man Faces Sexual Assault Charges After Marrying A Teenager

By Christina Rentz

Published on August 02, 2005

Matthew Koso was charged with first degree sexual assault charges on Monday after impregnating and marrying a 14-year old girl. The girl is seven months pregnant.

Koso began having sexual relations with the teenager when she was 13 years old. After the girl became pregnant, the girl's mother gave Koso permission to take her daughter to Kansas and get married. Kansas allows teenagers to marry at any age with their parents' permission. In Nebraska, the minimum marrying age is 17 with parental consent.

Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning filed the charges. He says that, even though the marriage is legally valid, he refuses to stand by and let an adult have sexual relations with a teenager.

According to the Kansas law, both parents must consent to the marriage or a district court judge must approve the union. The couple came to Brown County District Court Judge James Patton who would only perform the ceremony after the couple sought legal counsel from an attorney. Judge Patton married the couple on May 3.

If Matthew Koso is convicted of the sexual assault charges, he faces up to 50 years in prison and a $7,500 fine

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