Stepfather and Adult Stepdaughter Charged with Felony Incest
A West Virginia man and his stepdaughter were taken into custody earlier this month and charged with seven counts of felony incest despite both being above the legal age of consent and having not a drop of shared blood between them.
Authorities in Nicholas County arrived at the Charleston home of 28-year-old Kelcey Nicholas to arrest him on an unrelated home confinement violation and found him engaging in intercourse with his 21-year-old stepdaughter, Lataura Jarrett.
According to Nicholas County Sheriff David Hopkins, that Nicholas and Jarrett aren't blood relatives doesn't matter to the state, since the law criminalizing incest defines daughter as "the natural daughter of a person's husband or wife."
Nicholas and Jarrett's mother have been married for the past five years, and Jarrett lived with them and even referred to Nicholas as "father" until moving away after getting married herself.
If found guilty, Nicholas and Jarrett face between 5 and 15 years in prison per count.
A preliminary hearing has been set for October 3rd.