Iceland’s Minister for Children, Ásthildur Lóa Thórsdóttir, has resigned after acknowledging that she had a child with a teenager over 30 years ago. In a media interview, Thórsdóttir revealed that she started a relationship with the boy when he was 15 and she was a 22-year-old counselor at the religious group he attended. She gave birth to his child when he was 16 and she was 23.

Thórsdóttir stated that it has been 36 years since the incident and she would have handled things differently today. According to RUV news agency, Thórsdóttir met the father, Eirík Ásmundsson, while working at a religious organization he had joined due to a difficult home life. The relationship was kept secret, but Ásmundsson was reportedly present at his child’s birth and stayed with the child for a year. However, after Thórsdóttir met her current husband, the situation changed.

It is reported that Eirík Ásmundsson submitted documents to Iceland’s justice ministry requesting access to his son, but Thórsdóttir refused and sought child support payments from him over the following 18 years. A relative of Ásmundsson tried to contact the Icelandic prime minister about the relationship last week, leading to the revelation and Thórsdóttir’s resignation.

Thórsdóttir expressed upsetness about the relative’s contact with the prime minister, stating her understanding of how the situation appears but recognized the difficulty in accurately portraying the story in the media. In Iceland, the age of consent is 15, but it is considered a criminal offense to engage in sexual relations with someone under the age of 18 if you are in a position of authority or influence. Despite resigning from her ministerial position, Thórsdóttir stated that she has no plans to leave parliament.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgejln196vo