DUNCAN, Okla. — An Oklahoma woman is headed to prison for incest after pleading guilty Tuesday to a felony count.
A judge sentenced 45-year-old Patricia Ann Spann, of Norman, to two years in prison, eight years probation and an additional $2,791 in fines, according to The Oklahoman. Upon her release, she will also have to register as a sex offender.
Patricia Spann and her biological daughter, 26-year-old Misty Spann, were charged in September 2016, several months after they got married and began living together in Duncan, Oklahoma.
Court records show their marriage was annulled Oct. 12, 2017, at Misty’s request. Misty, who claimed she was fraudulently induced into marriage by her mother, received a deferred sentence. It was later discovered that the law doesn’t allow deferred sentences in incest cases, and she was allowed to withdraw her guilty plea. Misty Spann is slated to enter a plea next week.
Authorities found out about the incestuous relationship from a Department of Human Services worker who stumbled across the information while conducting a child welfare investigation, according to The Oklahoman.
Investigators told KFOR that 43-year-old Patricia Spann lost custody of Misty, 26, and two other children when they were young. They were then adopted by their grandmother.
Spann also told investigators when she reunited with her daughter “they hit it off.”
The Oklahoma mother said she thought they weren’t breaking any laws because her name was no longer listed on her daughter’s birth certificate.
Patricia Spann insisted to investigators in 2016 that she hadn’t had contact with her children until a few years earlier, a claim contradicted by court records showing she also married her biological son in 2008.
A judge later agreed to annul the marriage at the son’s request in 2010.
