A 57-year-old former Virginia lawmaker on Thursday announced that he plans to marry the teenager whose stint as a receptionist in his legislative office ended in a sex scandal and jail sentence for the Democrat, Reuters reported.

Joseph Morrissey, who a day earlier had acknowledged fathering Myrna Pride's 9-week-old baby, insisted at a news conference that he never engaged in unlawful sexual relations with the woman, who began working for the legislator at age 17. Pride, who today is employed at Morrissey's law office, concurred.

"I never engaged in a sexual (act) with Mr. Morrissey until I was of legal age," she noted.

The former lawmaker told reporters that the couple's age difference was not a factor about which he was concerned, according to the (Newport News, Virginia) Daily Press.

"Of course we're going to get married," Morrissey said. "I love Myrna. She's smart. She's intelligent. She makes me laugh. I think she makes me a better person."

Last December, Morrissey had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor over his relationship with Pride, Reuters recalled. He was eventually required to serve 90 days in work release, the newswire added.

Nevertheless, the former legislator may soon face additional legal challenges as prosecutors are considering perjury charges; they suspect him of having used forged documents during negotiations for his plea agreement, the Washington Free Beacon noted.

Morrissey had made national headlines in January when he managed to be re-elected to his House of Delegates seat in a special election even though he was imprisoned at the time, Reuters recalled.

The lawmaker later gave up his post but said on Thursday that he planned to make a formal announcement to run for the state Senate as an independent.

As for his private matters, the Democrat revealed that he has four children by four different women and that two of the children are adults, according to the Daily Press. In addition to Myrna Pride's baby, Chase, Morrissey is also father to another "young child," the newspaper detailed.