Vaughan v. Gideon

BARNARD, P. J.

This is an action for annulment of a marriage, brought by the father of a minor. So far as material here, the complaint alleges that the plaintiff is the father of this minor; that she was then under the age of 18 years, “to wit, of the age of seventeen years at this time”; that on January 26, 1940, at Yuma, Arizona, a marriage ceremony was performed between said minor and the defendant Dale Gideon; that said minor “was at that time under age of consent, to wit, of the age of fifteen years”; that said marriage was performed without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff or of his wife; that prior to the time of said marriage and on or about December 5, 1939, the defendant raped the said minor and as a result thereof the minor became pregnant; that on September 9, 1940, a child was born to said minor, which child is now in the custody of its mother and the plaintiff and his wife; and that following said marriage ceremony said minor and the defendant have not lived together at any time as husband and wife and said marriage has never been consummated. The defendant defaulted and did not appear in the trial court.

The plaintiff testified that he is the father of this minor; that a marriage ceremony was performed between her and the defendant in Yuma, Arizona, on January 26, 1940; that this minor was born in June, 1924, and was about fifteen and one-half years old at the time of the marriage; that neither he nor the mother of the minor had given their consent to this marriage; that they knew nothing about it at the time; that the defendant had not lived with this minor at any time after the marriage; that this minor was brought to his home the same day that the marriage occurred and has resided there ever since; and that a child was born to her on September 9, 1940.

The minor in question testified that the defendant seduced her on or about December 5, 1939; that as a result of that intercourse she became pregnant; that when she told the defendant “he said if I didn’t go with him my folks would send me to the reform school and him to the penitentiary”; that he wanted her to marry him for this reason; that she believed this to be true and accompanied him to Arizona in

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his car; that they secured a license and were married there on January 26, 1940; that neither she nor the defendant secured any court order or consent permitting them to get married; that the defendant, immediately following the marriage, brought her directly to her father’s home and then left; that she had never lived with the defendant at any time and had never had intercourse with him after the marriage ; and that a child was born to her on September 9, 1940. On examination by the court, this minor testified that in securing a license in Arizona she falsely stated that she was either eighteen or twenty-one years of age; that the defendant told her what to put in the document and helped her prepare it; that she did what he told her to do; that she knew at the time that she was signing an affidavit that she was eighteen or twenty-one years of age; that she thought she had to do this; and that she knew that a license could not have been secured if she had told the truth.