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Showing the bloody sheet is traditional in a few cultures... it supposedly proves that the bride was a virgin on her wedding night. I don't like it, but that's what they do.
In the US, if an adult has sex with a minor, the adult can be charged with statutory rape - even if it was consensual sex (the idea being that the minor can't actually give consent). I'm not sure what happens if two minors have sex with each other. Perhaps Romania has a similar law?
I'm sure they can make a rape charge stick, too, especially if the marriage is ruled illegal. (There can, of course, be rape within marriage, but not all countries' laws allow a husband to be prosecuted if he rapes his wife.)
ETA: Kimmie1913, you make some good points. But, it's within the Gypsy culture that this girl was treated as a second-class citizen, while it's under Romanian law that the groom (and hopefully the father too!) would be prosecuted. So I'm hopeful that Romania may have some good strong rape laws on the books.
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Last edited by aephi alum; 10-01-2003 at 03:32 PM.
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