Iceland’s minister for children resigned from her position after admitting she had a child with a 16-year-old boy over 30 years ago.

Ásthildur Lóa Thórsdóttir, 58, made the admission in an interview with Icelandic media.

According to Icelandic news outlet RUV, the affair began when Thórsdóttir was 22 and the boy was 15.

“The Minister met the boy when she led youth work. He accuses her of obstructing contact. Confidential information was received by the Minister,” RUV wrote.

Per RUV:

Ásthildur Lóa Þórsdóttir, Minister of Children’s Affairs, had an affair with a 15-year-old boy and had a child with him a year later. This was over three decades ago, when she was 22. She met the boy when she led youth work at a religious group in Kópavogur, where he sought refuge due to difficult circumstances at home. Ásthildur Lóa’s child’s father says she has prevented him from having contact with their son while at the same time demanding child support from him for 18 years.

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Ásthildur Lóa was leading youth work in the religious group Trú og líf when she met the young man.

The news agency contacted the man, Eirík Ásmundsson, who did not give an interview but confirmed that they had had a romantic relationship, which began soon after he sought out the church. A child was born soon after their meeting, when the boy had just turned 16 and Ásthildur Lóa was 23.

Individuals under the age of eighteen are considered children, within the meaning of the law. The age of consent is, however, 15 years, but was previously 14 years. This is not universal, however, as it is not permitted to have sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18 if the person is, for example, their teacher or mentor. It is also not permitted to have sexual intercourse with a person if they are under 18, are financially dependent on the person, in their employment, or as a client in a confidential relationship. This can result in up to three years in prison.

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From the New York Post:

The 58-year-old politician, who is a member of the country’s center-left People’s Party, confessed that she gave birth to the teen’s baby when she was 23 — and that the boy was in the birthing suite during her labor.

The teen, identified as Eirík Ásmundsson, even paid child support for the next 18 years — despite Thórsdóttir allegedly denying him frequent access to their child after she met and went on to marry her husband, according to the outlet.

“I understand… what it looks like,” Thórsdóttir said after being forced to come clean on the decades-old tryst, arguing it is “very difficult to get the right story across in the news today.”

“It’s been 36 years, a lot of things change in that time and I would definitely have dealt with these issues differently today,” she added.

The age of consent in Iceland is 15, but it is illegal to have sex with a person under 18 if you are their teacher or mentor.

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It wasn’t immediately clear if investigators were looking into the revelations.

Thórsdóttir tendered her resignation from her ministerial post after being summoned by Iceland’s Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir on Thursday.

 

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