Southwest Oklahoma man offers $1,000 for young virgin bride

BRAY, Okla. (AP) -- A man is causing an uproar in this rural southwestern Oklahoma town by advertising that he'd like to pay for a young virgin to be his bride.<br/><br/>A sign that 45-year-old Michael

Thursday, April 20th 2006, 5:41 am

By: News On 6

BRAY, Okla. (AP) -- A man is causing an uproar in this rural southwestern Oklahoma town by advertising that he'd like to pay for a young virgin to be his bride.

A sign that 45-year-old Michael Thelemann posted in his yard Sunday said he'll pay a $1,000 reward for a virgin bride between the ages of 12 and 24.

One of his neighbors says she feels like she's living near a pedophile and another says she fears for the safety of her three daughters.

Thelemann says he can't understand the uproar, especially since his grandmother married an older man when she was 14. He says he's getting up in years and wants a young wife who can bear him children.

Thelemann says his original sign was stolen but he's since erected a new one that doesn't include the minor ages. It does note, however, that he's not interested in a, quote, "pig-worshipping, heathen, white-supremacist wife," unquote.

Stephens County District Attorney Gene Christian says it's likely Thelemann is acting legally. But noting the recent killings of 10-year-old girls in Tulsa and Purcell, Christian says that Thelemann's timing isn't good.