Groom-to-be in arranged marriage arrested; accused of sexual assault

A marriage contract between two valley Muslim families ended with the groom-to-be behind bars.

Officers say the arranged bride, a teenager was kidnapped, beaten, and sexually assaulted after refusing to go thru with the marriage.

Both families are from Somalia and police say they are under investigation.

The age of the victim has not been released, but we're told she is 18 or 19-years-old.

Police say her family may have forced her into the arranged Groom's apartment where she was then raped.

"A Somali translator was brought in for 30-year-old Mohamed Abdullahi's first hearing. He's being held without bond, accused of hurting his arranged bride.

"I saw some guys carrying a girl in, so I ran over to the front and they threw somebody and that girl in this house, and all of them just walked out," said Trina Childs, a witness.

On Monday, Childs saw a group of men carrying the bride-to-be and throw her into the apartment.

"She was crying, she was just screaming, and shaking her head," said Childs.

"Her family entered into an agreement or "Nikah" with another family against the girl's wishes," said Sgt. Trent Crump.

A Nikah is a formal Islamic marriage. Police say the bride-to-be ran away for 15 days when she first found out about the arranged marriage, but then came back home to finish high school.

"Live her life how she wants to live her life, here clearly this is something she did not want to be a part of," said Crump.

After she had graduated, police say she still refused to marry Abdullahi and was forced into his apartment where she was held against her will, beaten, and then sexually assaulted. She used her tablet to send a message to a friend asking that friend to call for help.

Police say the victim had bruises on her neck, a bite mark and was bleeding.

Investigators also say she isn't very cooperative with them, and told authorities she does not want to press charges against Abdullahi or her family.