Arranged Marriage or Human Trafficking - Both are Illegal in America
Not unheard of
Human trafficking reports are unusual for Greenfield, but not unheard of, Frese said. In 2009, Greenfield made international headlines when a 36-year-old Triqui man allegedly “sold” his 14-year-old daughter in marriage to an 18-year-old neighbor.
In exchange for the child bride’s hand, the would-be groom was to pay $16,000 in cash and hand over hundreds of cases of beer and beef. Greenfield police became aware of the case when the father reported the younger man hadn’t paid up.
Authorities later backed off the “human trafficking” allegations upon learning marriages between older men and teenage girls in the Triqui culture isn’t uncommon.
More: Greenfield Cops Investigate Possible Human Trafficking