Jakarta, Oct 28 (ANI): The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) is planning to report to the police a rich Muslim cleric in Semarang, Central Java, who married a 12-year-old girl, accusing him of having illegal sex with a minor.

KPAI secretary Hadi Supeno said on Sunday that the commissions fact-finding team sent to Semarang at the weekend found that cleric Pujiono Cahyo Widianto, 43, owner and head of an Islamic boarding school there, had married and very likely slept with 12-year-old Lutfiana Ulfa.

According to the girls parents and some witnesses, the marriage between Pujiono and Lutfiana is valid according to religion (kawin siri), but it is not registered with the state, The Jakarta Post quoted Hadi, as saying.

What surprises us is that she was selected through a contest involving Pujis first wife and followers as a panel of judges. Puji married the girl after she beat her competitors.

He said Lutfianas parents admitted they had married her to Pujiono because of their financial difficulties.

They said they couldnt afford to send their children to school and hoped the marriage would improve their economic situation.

Hadi said the commission would immediately report Pujiono, his 26-year-old first wife and Lutfianas parents to the Central Java Police for a criminal investigation.

All those involved in the case, he said, could be charged under Articles 81, 82 and 83 of the 2002 Law on Child Protection. If found guilty, they would face a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of 30,000 dollar, for forcing, swindling and/or trading a minor to sleep with another person.

Hadi said Pujiono and the minors parents might have also violated the 1974 Marriage Law, which states a person must be at least 16 to marry.

Hadi said it would require a psychological test to prove whether the cleric could be termed a pedophile.

Pujiono reportedly married Lutfiana as his second wife in August and has declared he plans to marry two even younger girls — a seven-year-old and a nine-year old. The eccentric cleric refused to name the children out of concern it would spark wider criticism. (ANI)