Police in Greenfield, California are dealing with a considerable cultural disconnect. Macelino de Jesus Martinez, 36, was arrested after he arranged for a marriage of his daughter, 14, into a marriage for beer and cash. When his son-in-law, Margarito de Jesus Galindo, 18, stopped paying, he went to police to try to get his daughter back. Both are reportedly illegal immigrants from Mexico and now face criminal charges and possible deportation.
Martinez appears to not have realizd that a 14-year-old cannot be married in the state or that this “dowry” looks a lot like child prostitution and statutory rape.
I have been participating in a program on the “Cultural Defense”: cases involving difficult cultural claims that courts have to address in the context of criminal or civil actions that range from rape to murder to fraud. Here, Martinez reportedly did not see the problem with the arrangement and did not believe that he was engaged in a crime. It was simply an arranged marriage in his eyes.
The dowry was composed of the following:
1. $16,000
2. 100 cases of Corona
3. 50 cases of Modelo beer
4. several cases of meat
5. two cases of wine
6. 50 cases of Gatorade
7. 50 cases of soft drinks
This dowry seems a bit heavy on the liquid assets, but Martinez insisted that it was a traditional arrangement that was broken by Galindo.
Galindo is facing a charge of statutory rape while Martinez is facing a charge of receiving money for causing a person to cohabitate. Additional charges are possible.
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These men should never ever be allowed back into our country. We have enough morons in our country as it is. We don’t need to add fuel to the fire!
Thirsty 18 year old.
Three years too young to be drinking most of that stuff though
This is a horrific story. This guy should never be allowed to be around any kids, especially his own.
According to Scalia (Harmelin v. Michigan), tarring and feathering does not constitute ‘cruel & unusual punishment.’
In this case, I say why not.
Great idea, Bobfrog!! I’ll even help pay for it!!
Sally and Bobfrog,
Are you talking about tar and feathering Scalia or this poor excuse for a father?
Rafflaw….the father, of course!!
Ryan, it was the father, 36 getting the dowry of money and beverages, not the 18 year old son-in-law. Rafflaw…”This is a horrific story. This guy should never be allowed to be around any kids, especially his own.” The father wasn’t a threat to his own daughter other than being the one that was offering her in return for a dowry very common in many cultures. Read the article and comprehend it before spouting at the mouth. I do agree that we need to close off the border to keep potential criminals and terrorists from exploiting this weakness. If you’ve ever known girls this age, you would see that she was probably attracted to the guy. The father saw this and saw a way to uphold traditions of his culture and offered her for a dowry. How many of your ancestors were married off for a dowry, i bet many.