Sydney police arrested a man of Lebanese origin Thursday, for allegedly marrying a minor girl and having a sexual relationship with her.

Ahmad Chamma, 26, is on a student visa in Australia. According to the police, he met the girl in 2012 in Newcastle and began dating her. At the time she was a 12-year-old. He was also involved in a sexual relationship with the girl, who is now 13, the authorities allege.

Police further claimed that Chamma married the minor girl in a traditional Islamic ceremony last month. They both then moved to the Hunter region, west of Sydney. This marriage is illegal in Australia as the girl is a minor.  Chamma faces charges on 25 counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged between 10 and 14.

Officials at a high school informed the police about him after he tried to enroll the girl in the school, reports ABC NEWS Australia. The Child Abuse Squad arrested him after the tip off and are investigating further.

Chamma, a Newcastle University student, made a brief appearance at Burwood Local Court Friday, where he was denied bail. He will re-apply for bail in his next court hearing scheduled Feb.12. The girl was taken into state care.

Police said they also suspect the involvement of the girl's parents whom they have questioned already. "It's really really unusual," Detective Inspector Peter Yeomans told ABC. "We do have sexual assaults of minors... but this type of situation where it is almost sanctioned by a family, if that ends up being the case, is a very very unusual set of circumstances to happen within NSW."

On the other hand, Pru Goward, Minister of New South Wales Community, said forced child marriages were prevalent in Sydney. "This is a very secretive practice ... but it is not an unknown practice,'' she told the Australian Associated Press, reports The Australian. "I understand there are actually a significant number of unlawful, unregistered marriages to under-aged girls in NSW, particularly in western Sydney, southwest Sydney and the Blue Mountains.''