The reunion of a North Carolina father and his daughter who was given up for adoption 20 years ago became a twisted tale of pregnancy, divorce, and incest. In January 1998, Steven Walter Pladl and his wife gave up their daughter for out-of-state adoption. When their daughter, Katie Rose Pladl, turned 18, she tracked down her biological parents, who were now living in Richmond, Virginia.
According to the arrest warrant, Katie moved in with her biological parents and their two other children in August 2016. But within just three months, something went terribly wrong in the household and Steven Pladl, 46, was often sleeping on Katie’s bedroom floor as he became estranged from his wife. The couple legally separated and divorced in November 2016.
In May 2017, Steven Pladl’s ex-wife found out that her daughter was pregnant from a journal entry by another one of her children. She confronted her husband and asked if he got their adult daughter pregnant and he stated that he was the father/grandfather of the child and he and his daughter planned to marry. In addition, she also found out that Steven Pladl had instructed his other children to call their sister, step-mom. Katie and her father were living together when the Henrico County, North Carolina Child Advocacy Center became involved when informed of the nature of the pregnancy. An investigation was launched and arrest warrants were issued for Steven Pladl and Katie Rose Pladl on Nov. 29, 2017. The couple fled police and were apprehended near Knightdale, NC on Jan. 27, 2018 with their 6-month-old son.
They are both charged with incest with an adult, adultery, and contributing to delinquency. Both were issued a $1M bond. Steven Pladl has since been released on bond but Katie remains in jail.
