A Virginia man and his 20-year-old biological daughter “face incest charges” after having a child together, according to warrants allegedly viewed or obtained by WNCN-TV.
In 1998, Steven Walter Pladl and his then-wife (who remains anonymous) gave their daughter, Katie Pladl, up for adoption. Approximately 18 years later, Katie found her birth parents using social media. By August 2016, she was living with the couple and their other biological children in their Virginia home.
WNCN-TV reports that according to the warrants, “Steven Pladl and his wife legally separated in November 2016 and the wife moved out,” and that Pladl’s wife claims her husband had begun sleeping “on the floor” in Katie’s room prior to her vacating the home.
In May 2017, the wife discovered that Steven had impregnated Katie, according to WNCN-TV. She then confronted Steven, and he admitted that he and Katie had been involved in a sexual relationship resulting in the conception of a child. He also reportedly added that he and Katie were going to be married. The wife uncovered the secret only after reading one of her children’s diary entries, the news outlet adds.
Shortly thereafter, the Pladl children were interviewed by Henrico County Child Advocacy Center. According to WNCN-TV, the kids confirmed that “they had been told” Katie was pregnant with their father’s baby.
USA Today found a July 21 Instagram post from Katie indicating that she and her biological father were “married.”
The first Instagram picture shows a clearly pregnant Katie Pladl.
On November 29, “Henrico County police issued warrants for the arrest of Katie and Steven Pladl.” By then, the allegedly incestuous couple had moved to Knightdale, North Carolina, and had their son, who was allegedly born sometime in September 2017.
On January 27, 2018, Steven and Katie Pladl were arrested. Authorities are seeking extradition to Virginia, where the crime of incest (specifically Class 5 Felony Incest) is punishable by up to ten years in prison, according to Fox News.
