Child marriage accused faces deportation

Authorities have taken the first step towards deporting a Lebanese man accused of marrying a 12-year-old girl in NSW.

The 26-year-old was arrested in February and charged with 25 counts of sexual intercourse with a child.

He had been in Australia for six months on a student visa, which has been cancelled.

Immigration Minister Scott Morrison said the man was being held in immigration detention.

"He is in immigration detention along with the individual who performed the ceremony," he told Macquarie Radio.

Legal experts say it is likely the man will be deported once criminal proceedings against him end.

Pakistani Riaz Tasawar, 35, who allegedly conducted the Islamic marriage, is being held at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre.

He was arrested in February and charged with performing solemnisation of a marriage by an unauthorised person.

His sponsored visa was cancelled by a Newcastle mosque.

The 61-year-old father of the girl has also been charged with procuring a child for unlawful sexual activity and being an accessory before the fact to sexual intercourse with a person between 10 and 14 years of age.

Police said the Lebanese man became involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with the girl in NSW's Hunter region.

The pair then allegedly moved to Sydney's southwest, where they continued the relationship.