A Dayton Daily News investigation found 4,443 girls age 17 or younger were married in Ohio between 2000 and 2015, including 59 who were 15 and younger. Ohio requires teen girls to be at least 16 and males to be at least 18 before they can legally marry but allows for younger pregnant girls to wed with the permission of parents and juvenile courts, the Dayton Daily News has reported . Fraidy Reiss, executive director of Unchained At Last, a national non-profit advocating for an end to child marriage, said the state’s marital laws put Ohio in the same company as Yemen, Iran and Saudi Arabia. "Shame on Ohio for having 16th Century laws still on the book," said Fraidy Reiss of Unchained At Last. RELATED: New York changes marriage law 
 
 Marriage before age 18 is still legal in all 50 states, though Connecticut, New York and Texas each recently adopted laws to increase the minimum marriage age and several other states are considering legislation to do so, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures and the Unchained At Last advocacy group. COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio's marriage laws allowing underage teens to marry are too liberal and create potential for exploiting young girls, said an advocate for organization that's called for ending child marriage. Action taken Bills introduced 
 
 to limit child marriage Bills passed 
 
 to limit child marriage No action Source: UnchainedAtLast.org 
 
 State Rep. Jeff Rezabek, R-Clayton, an attorney who practices juvenile and family law, said some of the cases of young, pregnant teens marrying older men point to problems in Ohio’s laws. “I do remember one where somebody was really young.” 
 
 Although Medley says sexual contact with a minor should have resulted in an investigation into possible criminal charges against Richard Siders, he acknowledged that neither prosecutors nor children’s protective services got involved in the case. RELATED: Millennials waiting longer to get married 
 
 Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge Anthony Capizzi also said law enforcement should have been alerted. “I can’t imagine a 14-year-old girl marrying a 40-plus-year-old man and that being a valid marriage, not being forced upon the child.” 
 
 In Ohio, the age of consent is 16, and sex with 13, 14 or 15-year-olds can be considered unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. However, the more serious charge of statutory rape involves having sex with anyone under 13. Almost 15 years later, they are still married and have three children together. “He says he is just glad we are together and that things worked out,” she wrote.` 
 
 A 2012 study published in the Boston University Law Review found that adolescents who enter marriage in their mid-teens experience marriage failure rates of nearly 80 percent, compared with a 30 percent divorce rate for those who marry after age 24. William & Mary Law School Professor Vivian Hamilton, author of the study, found that teens lack the maturity and skills needed to maintain a modern marriage. He is there when I need to just talk. Tessi Siders, now 29, said in an interview conducted by text that she doesn't regret having married at such a young age but probably wouldn't allow her children to do so. And she said Ohio should change its law to mandate 18 as the minimum age for both parties to marry. “Yes, some get pregnant before 18 but if the father truly loves her, he will wait the years to marry her,” she wrote.
– Ohio's marriage laws allowing underage teens to marry are too liberal and create potential for exploiting young girls, says an advocate for an organization that has called for ending child marriage, per the AP. Ohio requires teen girls to be at least 16 and males to be at least 18 before they can legally marry, but it allows for younger pregnant girls to wed with the permission of parents and juvenile courts, the Dayton Daily News has reported. The newspaper found more than 4,400 girls age 17 or younger were married in Ohio between 2000 and 2015, including 59 who were 15 or younger. Three were just 14. The executive director of a national nonprofit advocating for ending child marriage says Ohio's law creates situations comparable to Yemen, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. "Shame on Ohio for having 16th-century laws still on the book," says Fraidy Reiss of Unchained at Last. People younger than 18 are allowed to marry in all 50 states, though some states, including New York and Texas, have recently adopted laws increasing the minimum age. While the age of consent in Ohio is 16, an adult could be charged with unlawful sexual conduct with a minor for having sex with someone between the ages of 13 and 15; they would face rape charges for sex with anyone younger. The Daily News story highlighted a case of a pregnant Ohio 14-year-old who married a 48-year-old man in 2002. They remain married and have three kids. Tessi Siders, now 29, says in a text message interview she doesn't regret having married at such a young age but likely wouldn't allow her kids to do so. And she said Ohio should change its law to make the minimum age for marriage 18. "Yes, some get pregnant before 18, but if the father truly loves her, he [waits] the years to marry her," she wrote.