A northwest Bexar County couple is facing charges of Continuous Family Violence after they allegedly brutally abused their 15 year old daughter after she refused their instructions to enter into a 'forced marriage,' News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Sheriff Javier Salazar called it a 'very disturbing case.'
He says Maarib Al-Hishmawi's parents 'poured hot cooking oil on the Taft High School student who was then 15, beat her with broomsticks, and choked her when she declined to marry the adult male.. Salazar says $20,000 'was to be exchanged' as part of the arrangement.
The case broke open when the girl ran away from home to avoid the abuse and the marriage.. She was found safe earlier this month, living with an organization that helps victims of family violence.
The girl's mother and father have been arrested in connection with the abuse, and Salazar said the man who agreed to the scheme to marry Maarib in exchange for cash is 'very likely' to face charges as well.
Salazar says the FBI is also involved in the case and the parents could face federal charges.
The couple's five other children, between the ages of 5 and 15. are in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The family entered the US as refugees from Iraq.