IOWA CITY, Iowa — A Florida man says he's angry that an Iowa court official duped him and his same-sex partner into paying for an invalid marriage license.
In a phone interview Friday, Joab Penney told The Associated Press that Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice's actions were wrong. He says the case illustrates the difficulty facing same-sex couples who cannot get married in their states.
Van Nice was charged Wednesday with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury for allegedly filing false documents claiming she married Penney and his partner in February. Her attorney says she'll plead not guilty.
Penney says Van Nice told the couple they didn't have to come to Iowa, which isn't true. Penney discovered the fraud after contacting an attorney for a divorce.