Antioch mom, son accused of felony incest; could face prison

1999-11-07 04:00:00 PDT ANTIOCH; CONTRA COSTA COUNTY -- An Antioch woman and her 23-year-old son allegedly had an openly sexual relationship that produced a child and another pregnancy and have been charged with incest under a law that could put them in state prison for up to three years.

Robert Kochly, assistant chief district attorney in Contra Costa County, said Saturday the woman, who is 43, and her son not only haven't denied their alleged relationship, but are defiant about it.

"It is a strange case. This mother and son have taken up as a married couple and she had siblings of his living in the home with her," Kochly said.

The pregnant woman, being held in lieu of $50,000 bail at the West County Justice Center in Richmond, is scheduled to appear in court this week.

Her son fled with the couple's toddler and two of the woman's other children - his half brothers - ages 13 and 16, according to Deputy District Attorney Paul Sequiera, who is handling the case.

Sequiera said police had several leads on the young man's whereabouts and he was optimistic they would find him within the next few days.

Neither adult has been named by authorities to protect the woman's other children.

According to Sequiera, the man was removed from his mother's custody when he was no more than 5 years old and raised primarily by his grandmother.

The man sought out his mother when he was 18, authorities said, and eventually began living with her. A girl, now 22 months old, was born to the pair, and the woman is pregnant with a second child by her son, Sequiera said.

The woman's children also include an adult daughter who is a full sister to the 23-year-old son, and a 10-year-old daughter, fathered by another man who also is the father of the two teenage boys.

Kochly said the case came to authorities' attention when the 10-year-old girl told school officials about her mother's relationship.

The girl allegedly was encouraged by her mother to call her half brother "Daddy."

"She just didn't want to go home anymore," Kochly said.

According to police reports, rel atives told authorities the mother and son have been romantically involved for several years, sleeping in the same room and showering together. Police said the woman denies her live-in boyfriend is her son, but Sequiera said birth certificates confirm they are related.

The daughter who reported the case was removed from the home and placed in the custody of the county's child protection agency.

Sequiera said he has never seen a similar case in the 15 years he has worked in the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office. He added the office generally does not prosecute sex crimes between consenting adults.

"We quit being moral police a long time ago," he said.

"The reason I decided to prosecute was because they had a child and another on the way. It's not really a victimless crime anymore. There's a reason it's against the law, because birth defects go up 10 times."

Sequiera said there is some indication from relatives that the toddler may suffer from physical and mental handicaps.

"What's going to make my decision on what position we take in the case is whether that 2-year-old has birth defects," he said. "If they sentenced that child to a life with a handicap, that's something different."

The woman's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Paul Mariano, could not be reached.

Arrests and convictions under the law against incest are rare. The state Department of Justice reported just eight arrests and three convictions statewide last year, according to preliminary 1998 data.

A sheriff's spokeswoman at the West County Justice Center, Sgt. Kathleen Parker, said she was aware that the woman was in custody at the facility, but didn't know the suspect's name so she couldn't ask her to speak to a reporter.<