A
mother and son whose forbidden love affair could land them each a
lengthy jail sentence have declared they are 'madly in love' and nothing
will tear them apart.
Monica
Mares, 36, and her son Caleb Peterson, 19, face up to 18 months in
prison if found guilty of incest at a trial later this year in New
Mexico.
But
the mother and son couple have vowed to fight for their right to have a
sexual relationship and are appealing to the public to donate to their
legal fund.
In
an exclusive individual interviews with Daily Mail Online, they told
how they are willing to risk everything to be together - and have
decided to go public with their affair in a bid to raise awareness of
Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA) relationships.
Mares
said: 'He is the love of my life and I don't want to lose him.My kids
love him, my whole family does. Nothing can come between us not courts,
or jail, nothing.
'I have to be with him. When I get out of prison I will move out of Clovis to a state that allows us to be together.'
Mother-of-nine
Mares said she would even give up the right to see her other children
if she was asked to choose between them and her lover.
Mares was just 16 when she gave birth to Peterson - whose pre-adoption name was Carlos - and he was adopted as a baby.
The
36-year-old, who didn't raise Peterson, saw him for the first time in
18 years last Christmas when she picked him up at his adoptive father's
house in Texas and brought him to her home after the pair got in touch
over Facebook.
The couple soon developed romantic feelings for each other and their relationship became sexual a few weeks later.
'The
first time I met my son in person I was so happy and excited I gave him
a big hug,' Mares said.'I went to go pick him up at his dad's house in
Texas.
'He gave me a call and asked me to pick him up, I got butterflies in my stomach.
'I met him outside and I knew it was him when he came towards me. He was crying and he gave me a hug.
'It was almost love at first sight but first it was mother love. He gave me a mother hug.
'He came home in the truck and came to live with me and we were both happy as mother and son.'
Mares said that at first nothing happened but she then started getting these 'crazy' feelings.
She said it felt different because she didn't raise him as her child yet after all these years he came back to her.
'It felt like I met somebody new in my life and I fell in love with him,' she explained.
She
continued: 'At first I told him, "I'm sorry I don't know how you are
going to react to this. I'm your mom and you're my son, but I'm falling
in love with you".
'And
he said: "You know what I am too. I was scared to let you know". He was
falling in love with his mom and I was falling in love with my son.
'We
talked about it and we took off to the park. I said, "Would you ever
date your mom?" And he said: "would you ever date your son?" And I said,
"Honest truth yes I would".'
Mares
says Peterson is the best thing that has happened to her in the past 19
years and wants to be with him for the rest of her life.
She understands that she risks losing all her children and going to state prison but they both want to fight it.
'Caleb is willing to go through the same thing. Whatever it takes to be together,' she said.
At
first the couple lived happily together in Mares' mobile home with her
two youngest children Uriah and Joseph – keeping their relationship a
secret from the world.
Mares' youngest son even began calling Peterson 'dad'.
But police soon found out about the clandestine affair during a call over a row between the family and some neighbors.
The couple was charged with incest – a fourth-degree felony in New Mexico - following the February 25th incident.
They were arraigned and appeared jointly in court in April – but were held in custody for breaching their no-contact order.
They were released on $5,000 bond and now face a trial by jury in September.
Currently
Mares is not allowed to see any of her children or have any contact at
all with Peterson.Yet she maintains that is has all been worth it.
'It
is every bit worth it,' she said. 'If they lock me up for love then
they lock me up. There is no way anybody could pull us apart, and I
really do love him.
'It hurts he is far away. It hurts really bad. I wish I could see him, talk to him, but I can't risk it.'
Peterson
said he started falling love with his mom about a week after meeting
her - but claims as he grew up with an adopted parents he never really
saw Mares as his mother.
'I
never had anyone cook me meals or give me anything,' he said. 'I never
got anything my entire life and she went out of her way to make me happy
and after about a week or so I started having feelings for her and I
guess I fell in love.
'It went beyond a mother-son relationship I never really viewed her as my mom. In certain aspects I do but mostly I don't.
'I
never thought I was crazy for having these feelings because I didn't
see her as my mom, it was more like going to a club and meeting a random
person. It didn't feel wrong, it felt normal.'
Peterson claims it was him who made the first move not his mom.
He recalls: 'We were hanging out just talking and I looked at her and she looked at me and I kissed her.
'It was a real kiss it had feelings behind it, there was a spark that ever since then it just stayed.
'Honestly
I never thought we would get into trouble for our relationship. We were
both consenting adults - when it comes down to it.
'She's adult I'm adult I can make my own decisions. I never thought it would blow up into something like this.'
Mares
also said that it didn't feel strange or wrong when the couple began
their sexual relationship - but admits that it probably wouldn't have
happened if she had raised Peterson.
'The
first time we were physical ended up holding hands and then we ended up
kissing and the kissing led to other things,' she said. 'I felt
comfortable with him and we fell even more deeply in love.
'If he had been with me all his life I don't think anything would have happened between us.'
As well as legal trouble, the couple has met opposition from friends, neighbors, family members and the wider community.
Mares has been attacked outside her home and subjected to death threats.
She said: 'I've been having a lot of trouble from the people in Clovis. They call me incest.
Dayton Chavez, Mares' ex and father to
two of her sons Moses, nine, and Joseph, 12, says he supports Mares and
Peterson's relationship
Mares
says other moms she knows don't understand what she's going through but
says her kids have said they will love her no matter what.
But with a torn look on her face, she added: 'But if I had to choose between my son and all my other kids I'd chose him.'
Peterson added: 'My dad walked out on me because of it.
'There's
a lot of negative comments I read on Facebook and things - people say
it's disgusting, it's gross, she's your mom but it doesn't hurt me or
affect me at all.
'If
they were in my situation or if they were to find out that somebody
they loved was actually related to them then they'd be saying the exact
opposite.'
Peterson admits that sometimes he wonders if he should have done things differently - if only to spare his family the pain.
But he said that even if the judge offered to spare him jail if he stopped all contact with his mother, he would refuse.
And he has vowed to wait for Mares if she is jailed and he isn't.
'Sometimes
the easy way isn't the best way,' he said. 'Sometimes we have to make
that life decision that's going to change and affect everything but when
it comes down to it, it's worth it.
'I will wait for her if she gets a jail sentence and I don't. For me it's not about patience it's about commitment.
'If I'm committed to something I follow it through that's the kind of person I am.
'If
I love her enough and I'm crazy enough to stay in Clovis for her and
crazy enough to face all the courts for her then waiting a bit of time
to have the rest of my life being happy then I'm willing to do that.'
The couple - who both have roots with Native American Apache tribes - is also being supported by Cristina Shy who runs www.lilysgardener.com, a support and advocacy website for related couples, also known as consanguinamorous people.
Cristina,
who is involved in an illegal relationship with her half brother in
Minnesota, said: 'Our whole community is watching this case and looking
for updates.
'It needs to be brought to the attention of everybody in the country and people need to start thinking differently.
'It was the same with gay people just a few years ago and now they can get married they are accepted.
'Well
why not consanguinamorous people like us? We are all adults. We are not
pedophiles, there's no domestic issue we are in love, we want to be
together but we are related. That shouldn't be a deciding factor.'
Cristina
is hoping to raise enough money to get a high profile attorney to
defend the case and says the couple is willing to fight all the way to
the US Supreme Court.
'This case could set precedent and change laws throughout the United States,' she said.
But Prosecutor Andrea Reeb, District Attorney for the Ninth Judicial District in New Mexico, doesn't agree.
She says incest is against the law and carries a maximum 18 month jail term and/or a $5,000 fine.
Speaking
to Daily Mail Online from her office in Clovis, Reeb concedes there is a
chance Peterson could be spared jail because of his age - but she's
doubtful Mares will be treated as leniently.
She
said: 'The law states that if you are related as they are - mother and
son - you cannot have any type of sexual intimate relationship. It's a
fourth-degree felony. It's the law so our office is bound to uphold the
law so we are pursuing it.'
Reeb said that in her 20-year career as a prosecutor she has only handled a few incest cases.
She
added: 'This case is going to be difficult only in the sense that some
people think that Caleb is a victim and not a defendant.
'I
have not got any feedback from the community or from anybody else
believing that Monica Mares, the mother, that anybody has any sympathy
towards her whatsoever.
'Both have acknowledged they knew it was wrong, they are both consenting adults so they are considered co-defendants.
'It's only a fourth-degree felony so it's the lowest level of felony in New Mexico.'
She added that if the couple reunited after their sentences - and law enforcement found out - they would be held accountable.
For
Peterson, he is willing to wait for his mom if she's jailed, and
despite the risk of further prosecution he still sees a happy future for
the unconventional couple.
'In two years time I can see us living together happily living our lives,' he said. 'True love can do anything.
'This whole case is about whether I have the right to love somebody and I sure as hell have the right to love Monica.
'You can't tell me who to love, who not to love.'
Mexico Mother, 36, and her son, 19, fell in love say they'll go to JAIL to defend their romance
A
mother and son whose forbidden love affair could land them each a
lengthy jail sentence have declared they are 'madly in love' and nothing
will tear them apart.
Monica
Mares, 36, and her son Caleb Peterson, 19, face up to 18 months in
prison if found guilty of incest at a trial later this year in New
Mexico. But
the mother and son couple have vowed to fight for their right to have a
sexual relationship and are appealing to the public to donate to their
legal fund. Mother-of-nine
Mares said she would even give up the right to see her other children
if she was asked to choose between them and her lover.
Mares
said: 'He is the love of my life and I don't want to lose him.My kids
love him, my whole family does. Nothing can come between us not courts,
or jail, nothing.
'I have to be with him. When I get out of prison I will move out of Clovis to a state that allows us to be together.'
'The
first time I met my son in person I was so happy and excited I gave him
a big hug,' Mares said.'I went to go pick him up at his dad's house in
Texas.
'He gave me a call and asked me to pick him up, I got butterflies in my stomach.
'It felt like I met somebody new in my life and I fell in love with him,' she explained.
She
continued: 'At first I told him, "I'm sorry I don't know how you are
going to react to this. I'm your mom and you're my son, but I'm falling
in love with you".
'And
he said: "You know what I am too. I was scared to let you know". He was
falling in love with his mom and I was falling in love with my son.
'We
talked about it and we took off to the park. I said, "Would you ever
date your mom?" And he said: "would you ever date your son?" And I said,
"Honest truth yes I would".'
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