Bride Prices: Native Mexican Custom or Modern Day Crime?

U.S. courtroom dramas don't usually have much impact in this ramshackle village of Triqui Indians deep in the mountains of southern Mexico. But a new case unraveling in Greenfield, California has sent shockwaves through the whole community. The accused men are both from its same Triqui ethnicity, an ancient people who number in just the tens of thousands. And the trial will also judge one of their most sacred rites: bride prices. Adding to their concern is the way global media have jumped on the story, with the Internet headline "Man Sells Daughter for Beer" sparking a sudden interest in Triqui customs from Italy to Australia

The case centers on an alleged marriage arrangement that went sour involving Marcelino de Jesus Martinez, his 14-year old daughter and her suitor Margarito de Jesus Galindo, 18. Galindo had agreed to pay Martinez for his daughter's hand in marriage, according to Greenfield police. According to the cops, the total cost was $16,000, one hundred cases of beer and several cases of meat. "The 14-year old juvenile moved in with Galindo and when payments were not received, the father, Martinez called Greenfield PD to bring back the daughter," the police said in a Jan. 12 statement.

Galindo has been charged with misdemeanor statutory rape and released after he and the 14-year old girl admitted to having had sex during their one-week long "marriage." Martinez is accused of a felony for "receiving money for causing persons to Cohabitate." The police entitled their news release "Human Trafficking." He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted. Held in prison since his arrest, Martinez has pleaded not guilty. His sister-in-law insists that the police version of a marriage contract or a sale of Martinez's daughter is not true.