Police break up wedding involving 14-year-old girl

Police prevented a wedding involving a 14-year-old girl from taking place in central Israel on Monday evening, arresting the groom and father of the bride ahead of the ceremony.

The groom, in his twenties, and the father — who was set to conduct the marriage ceremony — were detained as family members and friends gathered at a Lod wedding hall, according to a report by Channel 2.

The two were later released to house arrest, with the illegal wedding called off.

Local Welfare Ministry representatives told the TV station there was no way to monitor whether the religious wedding ceremony would be covertly arranged at a later date, in violation of Israeli law.

The girl was a member of a Breslov Hasidic sect in the city, according to the TV report. The girl’s father was a rabbi in the community.