A man who married a 14-year-old girl during an Islamic ceremony in Melbourne has wept before again admitting his guilt in court.
Mohammad Shakir was sobbing and visibly distressed on Wednesday in the County Court of Victoria as he officially entered the plea of guilty via a Rohingya interpreter.
He was charged with going through a ceremony of marriage with a person not of marriageable age.
Proceedings were delayed on Wednesday as Shakir, who was 34 at the time of the wedding, deliberated on his plea.
"If I plead guilty, is that good or not good?" Shakir said via his interpreter.
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Judge Lisa Hannan stood the matter down while Shakir discussed the matter with his lawyer.
Prosecutor Krista Breckweg told the court earlier this month that Shakir, who has been in custody since his arrest in 2016, should be sent to prison for the offence.
She said at the time of the wedding, the girl's age - according to immigration, government and school sources - was 14.
However the child's mother maintained the girl was 17.
Former Muslim cleric Ibrahim Omerdic, who conducted the wedding ceremony between the two, was found guilty in June of unlawfully solemnising the marriage.
The former imam of the Bosnian Islamic Society and Noble Park Mosque was sentenced to two months' prison but immediately placed on a two-year recognisance release order, meaning he didn't serve jail time.
Shakir, who already pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in April, was remanded in custody to reappear for a plea hearing on September 20.
