The Icelandic minister in charge of children has resigned after admitting she had a child with a teenager more than 30 years ago.

Ashildur Loa Thorsdottir said in an interview that she had started a relationship with a 15-year-old boy when she was 22 and a counsellor at a religious group. She gave birth to their child when she was 23 and he was 16.

BBC reports that Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadotir only learned of the incident on Thursday night, when it was revealed by Icelandic news agency RUV. She immediately summoned the Minister of Education to her office and she submitted her resignation.

The young man, named Erik Asmundson, had joined a religious group because of difficulties within his family.

His relationship with Thorsdottir was secret, but the young man was present at the birth of his child and spent the first year with him. However, that changed when Thorsdottir met her current husband.

RUV reports that it has seen documents that Asmundson submitted to the Department of Justice, seeking access to his son. Thorsdottir denied it while seeking and receiving financial support from Asmundson for the next 18 years.

The age of consent in Iceland is 15, however it is illegal to have sexual relations with a person under 18 if one is a teacher or general patron, if the minor is financially dependent on the adult or works for the adult. The maximum penalty is three years’ imprisonment.

“It has been 36 years, many things have changed in that time and I would certainly have dealt with these issues differently today,” the minister told Icelandic media.

Iceland’s prime minister said it was a “serious matter”, although she added that “out of respect for the persons concerned, I will not comment on the substance”.