A man whose common-law marriage to a 14-year-old girl so outraged state lawmakers that they quickly made such unions illegal has reunited with his young bride following his release from prison.

After a series of humiliations including being charged with child molestation, Willis Rouse said he intends to sue the state for preventing him from leading a normal life with his wife and their 4-year-old son, Alex.

“They robbed something from my wife and me,” Rouse said a few days after he was released from prison. “I didn’t get to see my son’s first steps or hear his first words. They subjected me with the stigma of being a sex offender, depriving me of the right to provide for my family.”

Rouse was originally charged with sexual assault by someone in a position of trust. He later agreed to plead guilty to a reduced charge of stalking after a judge ruled his common-law marriage was illegal. Rouse was sentenced in 2005 and was due to be released in 2008, according to state records.

Through a series of appeals filed by Rouse, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that such common-law marriages could be legal.

Meeting in an emergency session Sept. 1, 2006, the Colorado legislature made it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to enter into a common-law marriage.

In April, a judge lifted all restrictions placed on Rouse that prevented him from having any contact with his wife, Jaime, who is now 19 – 20 years younger than he is.

For her part, Jaime Rouse said she is relieved she is no longer forbidden from speaking with her husband. People kept telling her that her marriage was wrong, but she said she knew it was founded in love.

“They did try to tell me I could find someone else and (that) he brainwashed me,” she said. “I told them I love him and that I was going to be with him regardless. My feelings for him didn’t change.”

Now, the only leverage authorities have to prevent a reunification of the family is through a custody question involving their child. Jaime gave birth to Alex when she was 15, and the state has had custody of him.

Although Jaime Rouse has temporary custody of Alex, the state still controls Willis Rouse’s access to his son, whom he has never seen.

“It was rough,” Jaime Rouse said of being separated from her husband. “I went through some hard times raising (Alex) myself. If we made it through all this the last four years, we can make it through anything.”

She said her father committed suicide because he couldn’t take care of her. She was raising Alex while moving in and out of foster homes and institutions. Had she written a letter to her husband or called him or tried to visit him, she could have lost custody of her son, she said.

Alex was anxious to see his father, and when he learned where he was, he made up an imaginary friend and said the friend was living with his dad, Jaime Rouse said.

People thought the Rouses’ relationship was based on sex, but it was founded in friendship, Willis Rouse said. He said he didn’t set out to fall in love with a 14-year-old girl. He met her at his uncle’s house, and she didn’t act up like a young girl because she grew up fast on the streets, he said.

The two became friends first. He said he can’t explain why he fell in love with her, but he knows what it feels like. It wasn’t about sex; it was based on sincere affection for her as a person, Willis Rouse said.

“It stood the test of time even when we were apart,” he said. “How many people can say that? I hope people see our relationship for what it is.”

However, for the time being, Willis Rouse is staying with relatives in Littleton and his wife is living in a Denver apartment aided by welfare. They meet during the day.

Willis Rouse said his conviction has done permanent damage and that he is appealing the verdict, contending in part that charging him was a violation of his constitutional rights.

“What they charged me for, every married couple in the world does,” he said. “They didn’t approve of the relationship. But I followed the law, and they didn’t want to.”

Willis Rouse said he would like to work as a car salesman but that he is concerned that the stigma of his prison sentence may prevent him from getting a job.

Jaime Rouse, who is unemployed, said she would like to go to college and eventually become a pediatrician.

Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.