When one thinks of a mother’s relationship with her son, one thinks of being a role model, providing unconditional love, helping him through school, and attending extracurricular activities. For mothers who have been separated from their sons for a long time, once reunited, usually try to do all of those things in efforts to make up for time lost.

While that is the case with Mistie Rebecca Atkinson, 32, resident of Napa County in California, and her sixteen-year-old son, the relationship between the mother and son took a sick and twisted turn, which involved incest.

Atkinson claims that this is not a case of incest but instead a case of “genetic attraction.” According to MailOnline, “She was found in a Ukiah, California motel room with the 16-year-old boy, who had recorded his mother giving him oral sex on his phone.” Also recorded on her son’s phone was the two of them having sexual intercourse.

Atkinson, who had not seen her son since he was only one-year-old, after losing custody rights to him, tracked him down on the social networking site, Facebook. Soon thereafter, she began texting him nude photographs of herself. While Atkinson and her son had no contact for 15 years, the son claims he was aware that she was in fact his mother.

According to police reports, Atkinson began her intimate relationship with her son after several domestic violence reports were filed against her at the time by a live-in boyfriend.

The son and mother were then found in the motel room on March 2, 2012.

Yet Atkinson sees nothing wrong with her behavior. She wrote a letter to the court in Napa County stating, “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 [per cent] of people becoming reunited with a long-lost relative,” she wrote.

DailyMail described genetic sexual attraction as “a phenomenon where close biological family members, such as siblings or cousins, become attracted to each other when they meet as adults. If family members do not know each other during the critical years of development, they risk finding each other attractive. Little research has been carried out into the phenomenon but some psychologists claim it exists due to shared personality traits, which are desirable in a partner. GSA is rare between people brought up together, due to reverse sexual printing, where people become desensitized to finding family members attractive to prevent inbreeding.”

In May Atkinson pleaded no contest to incest, oral sex with a minor and obscene contact with a minor.

She was found guilty on all counts and was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison, and will serve her time behind bars in Napa, California.

She can get out in half the time with good behavior.

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About the author

Elizabeth Lowry
Elizabeth graduated from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University with her specialization in Broadcast News as well as a minor in business and psychology. She enjoys writing, reading and researching about humanitarian affairs, health & fitness, fashion and sports. In her free time she enjoys working out, traveling and exploring different cultures, trying new things and spending time with her Chocolate Lab.

1 Comment for Mom Claims Genetic Attraction— not Incest— with Son

Keith Pullman

Genetic Sexual Attraction is real and a normal reaction to the circumstances. It should not excuse statutory rape, but it should be considered a mitigating factor. Unless she has exhibited this behavior towards other underage (in California) boys, I don’t think she is a threat.

Many GSA cases involve consenting adults, and they should be free to be together without fear of prosecution or persecution.

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