Germany's constitutional court has rejected an appeal by a man who fathered four children with his sister to overturn the country's ban on incest. The case, which dates back seven years, has been making headlines around the world since the siblings held interviews with the media last spring.
In 2001, Susan Karolewski, then 16, gave birth to a boy whom she named Eric. Unfortunately for Karolewski, her bliss at the birth of her child was short-lived. It was soon revealed that the father of the child was none other then Karolewski's 26-year-old brother, Patrick Stuebing.
As a result of their alleged moral misdeeds, Stuebing and Karolewski were both arrested and tried in Leipzig District Court under paragraph 173 of Germany's criminal penal code, which states that it is illegal for close relatives to engage in sexual intercourse. During the hearing, the prosecution said that between January 2001 and August 2001, Stuebing "had sexual intercourse with his sister 16 times." Stuebing was found guilty and received a one-year suspended prison sentence. Because she was a juvenile, the court ordered Karolewski placed in the care of youth services. The couple's infant son, who suffers from severe physical and mental disabilities, was placed in a foster home.
The case might have ended there; however, Stuebing and Karolewski continued their forbidden love affair, and the couple had two more children together before 2004. Their second child, a girl, was born with physical and mental disabilities, much like their first child. The couple's third child, also a girl, had no obvious mental disabilities, but was born with a heart condition.
Police rearrested Stuebing, and he had another trial in 2004. This time, Stuebing was sentenced to 10 months in prison, and Karolewski was placed in the care of a social worker. As with their first-born child, the couple's two baby girls were placed in foster care.
