Someone not named Homer Simpson sells Daughter for Beer & Meat

Definitely not a candidate for the Father of the Year Award…

Police have arrested a Greenfield man for allegedly arranging to sell his 14-year-old daughter into marriage in exchange for $16,000, 100 cases of beer and several cases of meat. Police said they only learned of the deal after the 36-year-old man went to them to get his daughter back because payment wasn’t made as promised. The man was arrested Sunday on suspicion of human trafficking. – from WTOP

They say it’s part of a collision of American law and indigenous Mexican customs — and that many such cases may exist in south Monterey County. In some rural parts of Mexico it is not uncommon for families to allow their underage daughters to marry a suitor in exchange for goods or services to be used toward a wedding. “We have heard rumors and third-party hearsay of girls as young as 12 years old and younger, and men as old as their 60s, in some of these transactions,” Greenfield police Chief Joe Grebmeier said. “She doesn’t think anything wrong has happened,” he said, adding, “Everyone involved considered this (arrangement) to be normal; the only issue was the deal was not completed.” – from Californian

The girl’s father was arrested Sunday and booked into county jail on a charge of accepting something of value in exchange for placing a person into cohabitation. A man who acted as a broker in the would-be marriage was cooperating with police, Grebmeier said. “This is the most evidence we’ve had on this type of transaction,” he said. The girl was returned to her family, and police have reported the case to child welfare officials, he said. – from Chron