Mom who had sex with son gets under 5 years in prison, but claims ‘genetic attraction,’ not incest

Mom who had sex with son gets under 5 years in prison, but claims ‘genetic attraction,’ not incest
More than just friends: Mistie Rebecca Atkinson, 32, and her estranged son, then 16 years old, were reunited last year, when she tracked him down on Facebook. Police arrested Atkinson when they found the pair in a hotel room in April.

By Rheana Murray / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, June 22, 2012, 1:59 PM



Napa Police Department.
Mistie Atkinson, 32, of northern California, accused of having sex with
her estranged son, then 16, after contacting him on Facebook.


The California mom who slept with her estranged teen son says she didn't commit incest - it was "genetic attraction."

Mistie Rebecca Atkinson, 32, was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison on Wednesday in Napa County Superior Court, according to the Napa Valley Register.

In May, Atkinson, of Lake County, Calif., pleaded no contest to incest, oral copulation, lewd contact with a minor and distribution of lewd material to a minor, the newspaper reports.

But in a letter to the court, Atkinson said she doesn't consider what she did as incest.

"I don't feel like I should have the charge of incest because there is something called genetic attraction that is a very powerful (phenomenon) that happens to 50 (percent) of people becoming reunited with a long-lost relative," she wrote.


Mistie Atkinson via Facebook

Mistie Atkinson, 32, had sex with her estranged 16-year-old son after contacting him on Facebook.


Atkinson, who had been estranged from her son nearly his entire life, was reunited with the teen last year, when she tracked him down on Facebook, a law enforcement source told the Daily News.

She reportedly sent her then 16-year-old son multiple inappropriate messages and nude photos.

Police arrested Atkinson, when they found the pair in a hotel room in April, after the boy's family learned about the relationship and contacted authorities.

Last month, ABC's "Good Morning America" ran a segment about genetic sexual attraction (GSA), the alleged phenomenon Atkinson may have been referencing in her note.

While little research has been done on the theory, some psychologists say that biological family members who are separated for long periods of time risk becoming sexually attracted to each other when they reunite.