A Texas mother who let her 13-year-old daughter marry and experience sexual abuse by a 47-year-old man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. Everything was revealed in 2017 when the girl told her doctor during a medical examine that she was sexually active with “her husband,” who she said was 47-years old.

The teen’s mother Cherry Payton, 43, was also at the examine and also told the doctor that her daughter was married with her consent and its “normal part of their religious beliefs.”

Prosecutors discovered the girl was married with her mom’s consent for nearly a year before police were informed.

However, investigators didn’t find any records of a marriage license. Authorities believe the marriage was not a legal marriage, the girl considered herself married based on religious beliefs. These beliefs were apart of the Hebrew Israelite faith.

Evidence was discovered that Payton had sexually abused the child herself years earlier under the beliefs of a different religion.

After the investigation, Payton was charged with continuous sexual abuse of a young child and was sentenced to 30 years. The husband Steven Carty was charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to 42 years. They were both registered as lifetime sex offenders.

In the state of Texas a person must be 18-years old to be legally married. However, there are exceptions wherein minors who’re at least 16 years old are allowed to marry with parental consent.

“Although the child victim in this case was failed by her mother time and time again, she was surrounded in the courtroom by a strong support system,” prosecutor Jessica Ramos said Click2Houston reported. “We are grateful to her adoptive mother, her court advocate, her CASA, and the caseworkers from Child Protective Services that supported the child throughout this investigation and trial.”

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