LONDON (AP) 鈥 Iceland鈥檚 president on Sunday accepted the resignation of the North Atlantic island nation鈥檚 children鈥檚 minister, who quit the government over a relationship she had with a teenager more than three decades ago.
脕sthildur L贸a Th贸rsd贸ttir stepped down after national broadcaster RUV revealed last week that she had a child 35 years ago when she was 23 and the baby鈥檚 father was 16. RUV said the relationship began after the pair met at a church youth group when the teen was 15.
鈥檚 age of sexual consent is 15, but it is an offense for an adult to have sex with a teenager they teach, employ or mentor.
Th贸rsd贸ttir confirmed the relationship in a statement, saying she was not a leader of the church group, just a member, and that 鈥渞elationships between people of that age were not at all uncommon, even if they were not desirable.鈥
She said the relationship lasted only a few weeks, though the father was present at the child鈥檚 birth.
RUV reported that the father sought access to the couple鈥檚 son through the government and church, but was granted only occasional visits, though he paid child support for 18 years.
Th贸rsd贸ttir, who said the father had made little attempt to establish a relationship with his son, officially stepped down at a meeting Sunday of the State Council, involving government ministers and President .
Although she has left the government, she remains a lawmaker for the People鈥檚 Party, which is part of a coalition government led by Prime Minister Kristr煤n Frostad贸ttir of the Social Democratic Alliance.
Iceland is a tucked below the Arctic Circle with a population of less than 400,000. Its parliament, founded in 930 by Viking settlers, is arguably the world鈥檚 oldest legislature.
