Local mother, son face charges of incest

A 19-year-old Clovis man and his 36-year-old mother are scheduled to be in court this morning to face charges of incest.

Caleb Peterson and his mother, Monica Mares, could each face up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

Neither Peterson nor Mares could be reached for comment.

Their arraignment is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in magistrate court.

District Attorney Andrea Reeb said the Clovis-Portales prosecutor’s office has had about 10 cases of incest since 2000, but none have involved two consenting adults. Five cases involved adults with juveniles and the others resulted in dismissals or convictions on lesser charges.

A criminal complaint filed Feb. 25 shows police responded to a public affray near the suspects’ home on Edwards Street.

During the investigation of that domestic dispute, police learned of allegations that Peterson and Mares were having sexual relations.

“Caleb admitted to having a sexual relationship with Monica whom he knows to be his biological mother,” the criminal complaint reads.

Mares denied having sexual relations with her son, the court record shows.

Both suspects were arrested and released on $5,000 bond.

Court records show Peterson was adopted by another family as a child and had only recently re-established contact with his mother and moved to Clovis.

“Caleb stated his mother had always had bad luck with men and had been in abusive relationships all her life. Caleb felt if he was there to take care of her, she would not have to deal with abusive men anymore and he would take care of the household and his younger brothers,” the complaint reads.

The relationship turned romantic and sexual in nature after Peterson moved in with his mother, sometime after his 18th birthday, the record shows.

Reeb said she did not have enough information to know how she might proceed with the case.

“I can’t put my personal views into it,” she said. “If they violated the statute, even if it’s consensual, it’s the law and we will prosecute it.

“If the facts are weak, I might use discretion ... I just can’t get all the information to make that decision at this early stage in the proceeding.”