Woman Jailed On Incest Charges After Having Two Children With Her Biological Father

Chalena Moody, 25, was sentenced to 10 days in jail after pleading guilty to incest charges. Moody admits to having a sexual relationship with her 49-year-old biological father, Eric Lee Gates. The father-daughter couple has two children together, which have been taken into state custody.

The Register-Guard reports that Moody did not have a relationship with her father growing up. Gates had spent most of Chalena’s childhood behind bars for various offenses. However, the pair began speaking in recent years after Chalena was an adult. The father and daughter then began a sexual relationship together. The pair lived together in Oregon and presented themselves as a couple. The father and daughter have two children together and lost a third child during pregnancy.

It was noted that the couple was forthcoming that they were both father and daughter and lovers. They never denied their sexual relationship or that their children were conceived from the relationship. The Daily Mail reports that the two living children have a host of medical issues that could be a result of their conception through incest. The police Sgt. Dave Lewis notes that the children are currently in foster care and that they have “problems.”

“There’s issues with the children, and they’ve been put into foster care. It’s not a good situation all around.”

To ensure that the children were in fact conceived from incest, DNA tests were performed. The test results prove that Gates and Moody were related and had children from an incestuous relationship.

In addition to the 10 days in jail, Chalena was also put on 18 months of probation. As part of the probationary terms, Chalena is forbidden to have contact with her father. Gates had previously pleaded guilty to incest charges but violated his probation by visiting Gates. As a result, Gates is serving 60 days in jail for probationary terms violations.

The two children have been removed from the home and are currently in state custody. Gates has been ordered to pay restitution to the State of Oregon to cover the medical expenses that will be required for the children.

Though incest is illegal in most states, New Jersey does not prosecute incestuous relationships. In fact, one father-daughter couple has fled to New Jersey in order to get married and have children together. The couple notes that most genetic abnormalities in children come from years of incest, not a one time occurrence. Somewhat surprisingly, it seems that relationships between fathers and daughters who meet in adulthood are not uncommon. In fact, one therapist dealing with incest notes that incest can occur around 50 percent of the time when relatives meet as adults.

What do you think? Should incest be illegal?

[Image Credit: Lane County Jail]