Judge rules teenager who married 37-year-old woman is a delinquent

A judge ruled Wednesday that a 15-year-old boy who skipped school to marry a 37-year-old woman who is pregnant with his child is a delinquent.

The boy, identified only by his initials "A.S.G.," admitted at a juvenile court hearing to violating his probation on a previous burglary conviction by missing school and leaving home Nov. 8 to marry Lisa Lynnette Clark of Gainesville. Clark has been charged with child molestation.

After the ruling, Carden closed the hearing because of the "unusual circumstances of the case in which we have a minor who is married." A sentence was not immediately announced.

Hall County prosecutors alleged that the boy violated his probation by leaving home on Nov. 8 without the knowledge of his grandmother, Judy Hayles, who is his guardian.

Hayles, who said she did not have any comment on Wednesday, broke into tears and hugged her grandson when deputies escorted him into the courtroom.

Prosecutors also said the teen violated the conditions of his probation by not attending school for eight days between Oct. 20 and Nov. 8 and for failing to contact his probation officer for six days during the same period. He was supposed to provide a doctor's note to the probation officer if he missed school, Carden said.

Hayles filed a police report on Oct. 6 when she learned from a friend that Clark was pregnant. Georgia law allows children of any age to marry, without parental consent, as long as the bride-to-be is pregnant. The law dates back to the early 1960s and was written to prevent out-of-wedlock births, AP reports.

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