Another Superfluous Incest Charge

By his own admission, Madisonville's Mark Anthony Watson is a horrible person. But I find this to be another example of a superfluous criminal charge for incest.

An investigation into Mark Anthony Watson was started in April 2009 by the Alcoa Police Department when he was accused of embezzling nearly $190,000 from Metal Roofing Wholesalers in Louisville.

During the investigation, evidence found on his work computer indicated Watson possessed child pornography and a video showing him engaged in sexual intercourse with a female relative. The charge of incest and sexual exploitation of a minor were not connected, as the female relative was not a juvenile at the time of the sexual activity, according to authorities.

So why not just nail him to the wall for the theft and the sexual exploitation of a minor thing? Why charge him for the apparently consensual sex with another adult? It certainly wasn't to add time to his sentence:

The sentences will run concurrently and Watson was credited more than a year of jail time that he has spent in the Blount County Jail.

A change in the law is way overdue. Laws against consensual sex aren't just used against bad guys like this. They are used against people who don't steal, don't victimize others and certainly not children, and are good citizens.