A New Mexico mother has been ordered to stand trial for incest after a state judge refused to dismiss charges. Monica Mares, 36, had not seen her son Caleb Peterson, 19, since he was an infant. Mares was 16 when she gave up her son for adoption. Mares made contact with her son through Facebook and the pair soon began plans to meet one another. She finally saw him for the first time during Christmas last year. She picked him up from his adopted father’s home in Texas and the pair drove to his mother’s house in Clovis, New Mexico. During the time they spent together, what should have been a pure mother’s love soon turned sexual within weeks.
The affair was discovered and Mares and her son were charged with incest. The pair face up to 18 months in prison for their relationship if convicted. Mares, a mother of nine, states that she loves her son deeply and is willing to go to prison and lose custody of her other children. She also wants to make the public aware of Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA) relationships. GSA is defined as sexual attraction between close relatives, such as siblings or half-siblings, a parent and offspring, or first and second cousins, who first meet as adults.
Mares’ attorney had argued that incest laws punished women disproportionately and that Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage and abortion set a precedent ,which meant the charges should be dropped. The judge found the argument without merit and the two will stand trial later this month. Mares has stated that even if she goes to prison, she plans to maintain her sexual relationship with her son upon release.
