Parents convicted in attempt to force teen daughter to wed

LONDON – A British jury has convicted a couple of attempting to force their teenage daughter to marry her first cousin in Bangladesh.

The 19-year-old from Leeds in northern England said her parents used verbal and physical abuse to try to get her to marry the relative. The teenager eventually alerted British consular officials and was rescued days before the wedding.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court found the couple guilty Tuesday of forced marriage and of using violence, threats or coercion.

The parents, who can't be named to protect their daughter's identity, are due to be sentenced June 18.

Last week, a Birmingham woman was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison for forcing her teenage daughter to marry a relative in Pakistan —the first successful prosecution of its type in England.