Sydney man charged over alleged sexual relationship with 13-year-old girl

A Sydney man has been charged over alleged sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, New South Wales Police said on Friday.

The 26-year-old man was arrested by detectives from the Child Abuse Squad on Thursday and taken into police custody overnight.

He is due to appear in Burwood Local Court on Friday.

The man was charged with 25 counts of sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14 years.

The man allegedly met the girl in the Newcastle suburb of Wallsend in 2013 and began an ongoing sexual relationship with her.

Police sources say the man and child were 'married' in a religious ceremony in New South Wales earlier in 2014.

The pair were living together in Sydney's west at Guildford.

A Sydney high school contacted police recently when the man tried to enroll the girl, local media reports said.

The girl's parents, who are believed to know about the marriage, have been questioned by police.

Investigations by the State Crime Command's Child Abuse Squad are continuing, police said.