Chris Baynes related in an Independent post that:
More than 200,000 children were married in the US over the past 15 years, new figures have revealed. Three 10-year-old girls [...] were among the youngest to wed [...]
The minimum age for marriage across most of the US is 18, but every state has exemptions – such as parental consent or pregnancy – which allow younger children to tie the knot.
Eight-seven per cent of the minors who married across the country between 2000 and 2015 were girls, with the majority either 16 or 17.
The youngest wedded were three 10-year-old girls in Tennessee who married men aged 24, 25 and 31 in 2001.
Children as young as 12 were granted marriage licences in Alaska, Louisiana and South Carolina, while 11 other states allowed 13-year-olds to wed.
More than 1,000 children aged 14 or under were granted marriage licences.
A 14-year-old girl married a 74-year-old man in Alabama, while a 17-year-old wed a 65-year-old groom in Idaho.
Here's some additional data from Frontline:
However, while pre-teen and teen pre-marital sex may be on the rise, marriage appears to be on the decline.
