Millionaire who helped son, 16, get married has 180-day contempt term upheld by appeals court
A Florida appeals court on Wednesday upheld without comment a 180-day contempt term imposed on a millionaire for taking his then-16-year-old son to Las Vegas to get married to his housekeeper’s 18-year-old daughter.
A Miami-Dade circuit judge had ordered Dan Rotta to take the troubled teen to a Utah boarding school, as his mother wished. However, in an act Circuit Judge John Schlesinger called “simply shocking” and obviously intended to thwart his order, Rotta instead took his son to get hitched in Vegas the day after his 16th birthday. By marrying, the youth emancipated himself from the court’s jurisdiction. Under Nevada law, only one parent’s consent is needed for a 16-year-old to get married, the Miami Herald recounts.
Rotta served 10 days of the contempt term before posting a $10,000 bond and appealing. It is unknown whether he plans to file any further appeal. See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge OKs $10K Bond for Jailed Millionaire Appealing 180-Day Contempt Term re Teen Son’s Marriage”
