Public Plea from Mother & Son for Their Forbidden Romance
They say love knows no boundaries, but the state of New Mexico might have something to say about that. In the case of 36-year-old Monica Mares and 19-year-old Caleb Peterson, love means something that’s making many people uncomfortable: a romantic relationship between biological mother and son.
Mares was separated from Peterson after giving birth to him. The pair reconnected about a year ago, an encounter which eventually led to their both developing feelings. They’ve been living together ever since. However, on February 25, 2016, police officers found out about Mares and Petersons’ relationship while responding to complaints of a dispute between Mares’s household and some neighbors. The two were promptly charged with incest, which began the legal scuffle that drags on to this day.
A Controversial Love Story
Last Christmas, after getting in touch through Facebook, Monica Mares received a call from the son she hadn’t seen since he was born eighteen years before. At the time, she still lived in Clovis, New Mexico. Peterson, however, resided in his adopted father’s home in Texas. Named ‘Carlos’ prior to his adoption, Caleb asked his long-lost mom to pick him up so they could finally meet.
Their first meeting was memorably emotional, as Mares recalls:
“It was almost love at first sight, but first it was mother love. He gave me a mother hug.”
And such was their relationship for the first few weeks of their reunion. Peterson traveled back home with Mares, met her family, and settled in as part of the family. This dynamic wasn’t destined to last. It wasn’t long before Mares began developing “crazy feelings” for Peterson — noting, in retrospect, that her feelings for Peterson were complicated from the start. She didn’t raise Caleb as a child. She never even knew him as a child. He came into her life a fully-grown man.
At first, she said these feelings were confusing. So she decided to talk to Caleb about them. One day while spending time at the park, they discussed the strangeness of their relationship. Mares remembers disclosing her own feelings, to which Caleb responded by saying that he felt similarly. She asked him if he’d ever date his mom, he asked her if she’d ever date her son, and Mares finally concluded, “Honest truth, yes, I would.”
Genetic Sexual Attraction: Criminal?
After everything was out in the open, Mares and Peterson buckled down and rolled with their feelings. One loved the other and that love was returned. The world didn’t need to know, and for awhile, the two were able to raise Mares’s two young children and love each other in secret.
That secret died with the police. Officers got wind of her relationship with Peterson while investigating complaints of a domestic disturbance involving her family and some neighbors. According to The Clovis News Journal, Caleb admitted to the police that accusations of him being sexually involved with his mother were true.
Since then, a court order has kept the two apart. An official trial awaits them in September, until which time they’ll live separately (a $5,000 bond got them out of the clink, for now). Monica Mares is also forbidden from making contact with her children — a restriction that, while harsh, has far from broken her spirit:
“It is every bit worth it. 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.”
The situation is still unmistakably tense. If the court doesn’t rule in their favor, both Mares and Peterson are looking at a maximum of three years behind bars, on top of another $5,000 fine.
While they await the trial, Mares and Peterson both hope to raise as much public awareness as possible. Best case scenario: enough money is raised to hire worthy legal representation so that, if necessary, their fight can go to the United States Supreme Court. For Mares and Peterson, this isn’t just a campaign for their own love — it’s a battle in the war of rights for all Americans in similar situations. They want to prove that genetic sexual attraction is real and not a crime.
Even if that doesn’t happen, however, the fact that so many news outlets have covered this story seems to be a step in the right direction. People are certainly talking about them. Whether the hype will bode well for the couple in September as they stare fate in the eyes, only time will tell.
At Turner Law Offices, P.C., our team of attorneys has years of experience working with clients across a wide range of cases, including those involving accusations of incest. The best time to take action under such circumstances is immediately, and the first step is always to hire legal representation you can trust. Call today, or go online to set up your free initial consultation, and meet with a skilled lawyer who’s ready and waiting to guide you toward the justice you deserve.
