LAPORTE — LaPorte County Clerk Heather Stevens is asking a judge to block a 66-year-old convicted sex offender from marrying a 22-year-old mentally handicapped woman.
Authorities stopped a courthouse wedding March 17 moments before it was to begin. Police arrested Bradley Armstrong, whom Indiana has designated as a sexually violent predator, and prosecutors charged him with a felony count of providing false information on his marriage license application.
Armstrong is accused of lying on the application by denying his sex offender status, which stems from a 2002 child molesting conviction in LaPorte.
Armstrong is required to register for life as sex offender. The 22-year-old woman was deemed incompetent by a court for a variety of handicaps. Her parents are her legal guardians, and it’s unclear whether they are aware of the relationship or planned wedding.
The woman is also 10 weeks pregnant with Armstrong’s child, said Stevens, adding Armstrong is barred from contact with anyone under 18.
“There were a lot of red flags in this one,” said Stevens, who filed a motion in LaPorte Circuit Court, citing her authority under state law to seek action from the court as “superior guardian” over the woman as an officer of the court.
Circuit Judge Julianne Havens took the matter under advisement on March 30, scheduling a hearing in May to address concerns related to the guardianship.
The clerk’s office will deny a marriage license in the case until the court rules, Stevens said.
Armstrong was released from the LaPorte County Jail in March on $750 cash bond, according to court records.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Registered sex offender’s courthouse wedding stopped
Reporting by Stan Maddux, Special to The Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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