Dad gets 10 years for genital mutilation

The AP reports:

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- An Ethiopian immigrant was convicted Wednesday of the genital mutilation of his 2-year-old daughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in what was believed to be the first such criminal case in the United States.

Khalid Adem, 30, was found guilty of aggravated battery and cruelty to children. Prosecutors said he used scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris in his family's Atlanta-area apartment in 2001. The child's mother, Fortunate Adem, said she did not discover it until more than a year later.

During her father's trial, the girl, now 7, clutched a teddy bear as she testified on videotape that her father ''cut me on my private part.''

''This child has suffered, will suffer, the rest of her life,'' Judge Richard Winegarden told Adem during sentencing.

During the trial, Adem testified he never circumcised his daughter or asked anyone else to do so. He said he grew up in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and considers the practice more prevalent in rural areas.

No word yet from the AP if Mr. Adem is a member of the "religion of peace".