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The couple, who told police they were promised $7,000 from the groom's family when their 14-year-old daughter married her boyfriend this summer, made their initial court appearance in La Crosse County Circuit Court.
With their son acting as an interpreter, the couple was told the charges carry a maximum sentence of 121/2 years in prison.
In the complaint, prosecutors claim the couple's actions led to their daughter having sex with the 18-year-old man she married in a Hmong ceremony.
Under Wisconsin law, it is illegal to marry or have sex with anyone under age 16. Parents and guardians also are required by law to do what they can to prevent their children from having illegal sexual contact.
The girl told investigators she and the 18-year-old had been dating, but her parents ordered her to stop seeing him.
She said she missed him and wanted to be with him, so her mother agreed to approach his family about marriage.
His parents agreed to pay a $7,000 dowry, and the couple was wed and moved in with his parents, the girl told police.
Police learned of the marriage when the bride's parents called Onalaska police to complain that the groom's parents failed to pay all of the dowry.
The bride's parents said they had heard the groom's family planned to move to Alaska and they wanted the remaining $1,600 before the family left, according to the complaint.
Authorities said the couple and their parents all knew it was illegal in the state for a 14-year-old to marry.
Although the bride's parents received money for the marriage, that doesn't mean the wedding was arranged, said Thai Vue, executive associate director for the La Crosse Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association.
It is customary for Hmong to marry at a younger age, but Vue said that trend is changing as young Hmong become more Americanized.
"If you ask, are there any underaged arranged marriages, I would say there is almost none," Vue said. "The idea today for Hmong is that they want their children to get an education, not to marry at this early age. They discourage them to get married."
But Vue said it also can be difficult to keep teens from getting too serious. "I think the people who want to get married are (rebelling against) parents," he said.
When their children decide they want to get married, Hmong parents customarily help make arrangements, which can include asking the groom's family to pay a "bride's price," Vue said. The payment is a way for the groom's family to show the bride's parents their daughter has value to her new family, Vue said.
Dan Springer can be reached at (608) 791-8269 or dspringer@lacrossetribune.com.
