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Iowa court official helped Florida same-sex couple forge marriage certificate, prosecutors say
Associated Press
Oct. 18, 2012 10:35 am
An Iowa court official is accused of helping a same-sex couple from Florida to get a marriage certificate without stepping foot in the state.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice was arrested Wednesday and charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury.
A complaint says Van Nice received an online ordination last year allowing her to perform weddings. She started talking with two Florida men who were interested in getting married in Iowa, one of six states that allow same-sex marriage.
The complaint says Van Nice filed a false document in February claiming that she officiated their marriage and that two people witnessed it.
A message left for Van Nice wasn't returned early Thursday.
This photo provided by the Grundy County, Iowa, Jail shows Grundy County Deputy Clerk of Court Brigitte Van Nice, who was arrested and charged with two counts of forgery and one count of perjury, all felonies. Investigators said Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, that Van Nice filed false documents to obtain a marriage certificate for a same-sex couple from Florida who tried to take advantage of Iowaâ??s gay marriage law without traveling to the state. (AP Photo/Grundy County Jail)