A 26-year-old woman who married her mother was sentenced to 10 years of probation after she pleaded guilty to incest on Nov. 7.
Misty Velvet Dawn Spann, of Duncan, Oklahoma, must also seek counseling and pay thousands of dollars in fines, court costs and other fees per her plea agreement, reports News OK. She is subject to a deferred sentence, so she will not face a criminal conviction for incest provided that she meets the terms of her probation.
Misty married 44-year-old Patricia Ann Spann in March 2016 after the pair reunited in March 2014 and "hit it off" after the mom lost custody of her kids when they were young, Patricia told a DHS child welfare worker during an investigation.
Patricia reportedly thought that there would be no issues with the marriage "because her name was no longer listed on Misty's birth certificate," police said in a report.
DHS workers discovered the marriage during a child welfare investigation and reported it to police, though the specifics of the preliminary DHS case are not known.
Misty successfully annulled the union, which a judge ruled the mother began fraudulently. In the complaint, Misty stated that her mother "consulted with three separate attorneys who advised there would be no problem with the marriage."
The mom reportedly told investigators that the relationship was not a sexual one and that she entered into it in the hopes of adopting a child, reports KSWO.
This is not the first time that such a scandal has shaken up the family. In 2008, Patricia also wed one of her sons. That marriage, which she said she entered into in an attempt to keep her son away from military deployment, was annulled in 2010.
"I think she's worthless she put my sister into this," said Cody Spann, another one of Patricia's children. "She forced my sister into this, there's a lot of people that know it. For you to want to put your own daughter through this, what kind of person are you? If that's what you want that's on you, but none of us kids want that, and now you got my sister behind bars because of your choices.
"One woman who said she knew Misty in high school was baffled by the unconventional relationship that shook up Duncan, notes KFOR.
"Who in their right mind would marry their mom?" Paige Watson told KFOR. "More stuff happens in small towns than people know. When I went to school with her, she had a girlfriend, and they both worked at Sonic."
Incest is a felony in Oklahoma and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Patricia pleaded not guilty to the charges related to her marriage to Misty, though her court case will not begin until January because she needs to have surgery before then, reports News OK.
Sources : opposingviews
