A 42-year-old North Carolina man, who gave up his baby daughter for adoption in 1998, has been arrested on incest charges after reuniting with his now 20-year-old daughter, falling in love, and having a “love child” with her.
Katie Rose Pladl was born in January 1998 to Steven Walter Pladl and her mother and then legally adopted out of state.
Katie Pladl had no contact with her biological parents until she turned 18 and decided it was time to find out who they were. She used social media to reach out to them, according to CBS North Carolina, and received a warm response.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
After trading a series of messages with her biological mother and father, she moved to their home just west of Richmond, Virginia, in August 2016 and began to live with them and their two other children, her young siblings.
However in November 2016, shortly after she moved in, Steven Pladl and his wife, who has not been named in the legal documents, legally separated and began living apart.
Katie’s biological mother told authorities that just before she moved out Steven would often “sleep on the floor” in Katie’s room.
Seven months after separating from her husband, the ex-wife received the shocking news. After reading one of her young daughter’s journals, she discovered Katie, her 20-year-old daughter, was pregnant – and the father of the child was her biological father, Steven.
Eight days later child welfare workers in Virginia began conducting interviews, according to CBS. They interviewed the two young Pladl girls and they confirmed that they were told their dad was the father of Katie’s baby.
The warrants also show that Steven told his two young daughters to call their older sister Katie their “step-mom“.
The child, a boy, was born in September, WNCN-TV reported.
Incestuous marriage
The ex-wife also told Richmond’s WTVR-TV that her former husband and their daughter Katie married in Maryland and then moved to North Carolina, in an attempt to start a new life away from prying eyes.
But she doesn’t blame her daughter. She believes her ex-husband “brainwashed and manipulated” Katie, the station reported.
According to Fox, the incestuous couple have been charged with incest, adultery and contributing to delinquency. The maximum sentence for the incest charge is 10 years in prison.
Steven Pladl was released on a $1 million bond. Katie Pladl’s bond is also $1 million but as of last week she was still being held in a North Carolina jail. They appeared in court last week.
The charges were brought in Virginia where authorities believe the relationship began.
