A 19-year-old woman who married a 13-year-old boy after he persuaded her to elope with him and later had his baby could be facing a jail sentence for sex with a minor.
According to the star, the boy, named only as Zabar K, says he snatched his older bride, named as Bilana B, from her parents’ home in Stavropol, south-west Russia.
The pair is gypsies and say their relationship is normal in their culture but police say it is in breach of Russian law and have launched a criminal investigation.
Police say that Bilana could face charges and a potential jail sentence of three to 10 years for having sex with a child under the age of 14.
Zabar says he initiated the relationship after he got Bilana’s telephone number from a relative and started chatting her up on his phone.
“We were talking on the phone for less than two weeks, then I came to her place by car and she left with me,” he said.
Incredibly because he was so young he was not even allowed to drive and had to persuade his grandparents to go there with him.
They have a baby son, Yuri, named after Zabar’s father, and say their relationship has been formalised in a gypsy wedding.
Zabar’s grandmother Nema Kolmykova admitted that “They didn’t have a real wedding, it was very simple. We did not have money. All they did was bring a couple of bottles of vodka.”
But she added that she accepted their relationship and could not throw them out of her house, adding: “This is our custom.”
Zabar says he has had to leave school to support his family financially.
“Currently I am in the seventh grade at school. I am working to get some money, but plan on returning to school when I can,” he added.
And Bilana said: “Zabar will be working, and I will be taking care of the family.”
The police investigation continues.