Houston:
21-year-old Josten Bundy got into a physical fight with his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and punched his face. The Texas boy was then charged with assault to which he pleaded guilty. While he was expecting a fine or a minor probation, in a bizarre ultimatum, the judge asked him to either marry his girlfriend Elizabeth or go to jail.
"We figured he'd get probation but were surprised about the other conditions, especially the marriage," Elizabeth told CNN.
Smith County Judge Randall Roger has set an unusual set of probation terms for Josten. He is required to write out a Bible verse - "If a man digs a pit, he will fall into it" - 25 times a day, and marry his girlfriend Elizabeth Jayes within 30 days.
"The judge asked Josten if I was worth it and if we were living together, and we both said 'yes.' When the judge said part of the probation was that we had to get married Josten smiled at me and I was turning red," Elizabeth said.
When the judge asked Josten that he better ask for Elizabeth's consent, the boy looked at her and smiled.
"Because my face was red he thought I was okay with it, but then the judge made me stand up and asked me if I was okay with it. I said yes. People were laughing behind me and the bailiff had to say 'order in the court.' It was embarrassing," she said.
When Elizabeth told her parents about what happened in court, her father told them they did not have to go through with it.
But they did, the couple is getting married on July 20. The parents however are furious.
"I was really upset. Judge Rogers stepped into my family and tried to tell them what to do without any regard for me or anything. This isn't his decision," Elizabeth's father, Kenneth Jaynes was quoted as saying.