Franklin County man, woman face felony incest charges

In an unusual arrest, two Franklin County adults are in the Franklin County Detention Center charged with the felony crime of Incest.

According to information from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Michael Eugene Carney, 46, and April Lynn Holland, 24, remain in custody pending a bond hearing on one charge of Incest, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years’ confinement upon conviction.

Sheriff’s Investigator Kyle Palmer initiated an investigation in February after the department received a report of a possible rape allegedly occurring in Spruce Pine. After an investigation, Palmer said there were ‘inconsistencies’ identified in the victim’s account of what happened.

Investigators determined the alleged victim and the reported offender had been involved in a long-term dating relationship and recently had a child together four months prior to the report being filed.

Further investigation revealed the two individuals were related, with the alleged victim being the stepdaughter of the alleged offender, who was still married to the stepdaughter’s mother.

That offender was identified as Carney, and the alleged victim as Holland. According to Palmer, both admitted to being involved in a sexual relationship over several years, including a period when Holland was married to another individual who lives out-of-state.

The child shared by Holland and Carney was placed by authorities into the custody of the Alabama Department of Human Resources due to allegations of drug use by both individuals, authorities said.

Incest prosecutions are rare, but Alabama Code 13A-13-3 defines the offense as “marrying or engaging in sexual intercourse with a person he or she knows to be, either legitimately or illegitimately, his or her ancestor or descendant by blood or adoption, his or her brother or sister of the whole or half-blood or by adoption, his or her stepchild or stepparent, while the marriage creating the relationship exists or his or her aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of the whole or half-blood.

In cases where the victim is under the age of 17 years of age on the date of the offense, Incest becomes a Class A felony, punishable by up to a life sentence in confinement.

In addition to facing a charge of Incest, Holland was also charged with Filing a False Report with Law Enforcement, a misdemeanor.

As with all persons charged with a crime, both Carney and Holland remain innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.