Woman, 24, and her father, 52, charged with incest when they met years after she was put up for adoption

Utah father and daughter were both charged on Monday with incest

Incest is punishable in Utah by up to five years in prison



An estranged father and daughter who started a sexual relationship when they were reunited have been charged with incest.



The adopted girl from Bluffdale, Utah met her biological father who lives in nearby West Jordan for the first time in 2010 when she was 21.



A year later they allegedly began a sexual relationship.

Incest allegations: A 52-year-old man from West Jordan, Utah has been charged with having a sexual relationship with his daughter, who was put up for adoption

Third-degree felony: The 24-year-old woman from Bluffdale, about 25 miles south of Salt Lake City, could face up to five years in prison

The pair were charged on Monday as police claim that they both knew of their close biological connection.

HOW REUNITING RELATIVES CAN BE ATTRACTED TO EACH OTHER

A phenomenon called genetic sexual attraction can occur when estranged relatives meet for the first time as adults

Feelings of intense intimacy can be confused as the brain struggles to associate each other as family

When families grow up together, a inherent taboo is created which desensitises them to sexual attraction

It is known as the Westermarck effect but is missing from relatives who do not know each other



In Utah, Incest is a third-degree felony punishable by a prison term of up to five years.

The Utah Senate tightened its incest laws in 2009.

It expanded the definition of incest and eliminating artificial insemination as a possible defence.

Earlier this week a man from Houston, Texas was charged with attempting to lure a minor and her mother into sex on Craiglist.

In his advert he indicated that 'incest was a plus'.