Wife and mother of incest couple says it’s a betrayal

Alyssa Pladl had always yearned for news of the adorable, brown-eyed baby girl she reluctantly gave up for adoption after becoming pregnant in her teens.

So when her daughter Katie Fusco turned 18 and tracked down her biological parents, Alyssa wept for joy at the prospect of getting to know the child she feared she would never meet. 

Two years later, however, their fledgling bond is in tatters and 20-year-old Katie is languishing in a North Carolina jail facing the almost unthinkable charge of incest. 

Katie’s alleged crime: marrying her own father, Alyssa’s ex-husband Steven Pladl, who is now out on bond, and having his baby.

Now, in a heartrending exclusive interview with DailyMailTV, 37-year-old Alyssa has spoken for the first time about the warped affair that has ripped her family apart, describing it as the ‘ultimate betrayal’.

The mother-of-three has also told how she learned of the alleged incest by reading about it in her and Steven’s younger daughter’s journal, which has now been seized by police as evidence.

The confused sibling, 11, had drawn pictures of her pregnant sister and father, depicting them as devils and stating that, since her dad was ‘Satan’, Katie’s child would be born ‘half-demon’. 

Katie reached out to her biological parents in August 2015, writing: ‘Don’t know if you’re ok with this or not but I thought I’d give it a shot. hi’. Pictured: Katie with her son 

Shortly after Katie moved back in with her parents, Steven (pictured with his newborn son) and Alyssa legally separated. The wife told police Steven had been sleeping in Katie’s room

Alyssa Pladl (pictured with a baby photo of Katie), 37, the ex-wife of Steven Pladl and mother of Katie has spoken for the first time to DailyMailTV about the warped affair that has ripped her family apart, describing it as the ‘ultimate betrayal’

Alyssa lays the blame squarely on her 42-year-old ex-husband, insisting he brainwashed and seduced Katie after she moved into their marital home in Henrico, Virginia. 

‘There are no words to describe the sense of betrayal and disgust I’m feeling,’ she told DailyMailTV.

‘I waited 18 long years to have a relationship with my daughter – and now he’s completely destroyed it.’ 

After divorcing Alyssa in March 2017 and impregnating Katie, Steven Pladl appears to have made little attempt to conceal their alleged incestuous union from the world. 

The brazen couple posted tender portraits of their baby son on social media after his birth last September as well as photos from their July 2017 ‘wedding’. 

In one snap taken at the romantic lakeside ceremony, Steven can be seen passionately embracing his heavily pregnant ‘bride’. 

Incredibly, another photo shows Katie’s adoptive parents, Kelly and Anthony Fusco, joining the newlyweds for a group shot and smiling for the camera. 

Neither looks especially perturbed despite having just watched the daughter they raised from eight months old marry her biological father.

Completing the lineup is Steven’s 72-year-old mother Grace – who had just seen her son tie the knot with her granddaughter.

‘From what I know it was an official wedding, even if it was illegal. They just didn’t disclose their father-daughter relationship,’ added Alyssa, a supervisor for T-Mobile. 

‘They were all there for an incestuous wedding and she’s pregnant with his baby. How they could be there celebrating is beyond me.’

Alyssa says her heartbreak can be traced back to her agonizing decision to give away her firstborn child, known then by her birth name, Denise.

Both Steven and Katie have been charged with incest, adultery and contributing to delinquency. They were each issued a $1 million bond. Steven bonded out of jail, but Katie remains behind bars in North Carolina

Katie and Steven were allegedly married in July 2017 in front of family members, including Steven’s mother (left) and Katie’s adoptive parents Anthony and Kelly Fusco (right). Alyssa said: ‘They were all there for an incestuous wedding and she’s pregnant with his baby. How they could be there celebrating is beyond me’

Overwhelmed by the pressure of being a 17-year-old mom, Alyssa (right with Katie as a baby) and Steven, then 22, decided adoption would give their baby daughter a better chance in life

Overwhelmed by the pressure of being a 17-year-old mom, she and Steven, then 22, decided adoption would give their baby daughter a better chance in life. 

They would go on to marry in 2006 and raise two more daughters, but Alyssa says she never overcame her feelings of guilt and regret. 

‘I went into a really dark place for a long time. To help myself cope with it whenever her birthday would come around I would find a picture of her or think of her. 

‘Every January 29 I would say happy birthday Denise, I love you,’ she told DailyMailTV. ‘I hoped somehow she could sense it.’

When Katie first made contact in August 2015, Alyssa had never heard her adopted name before and was unaware who she was. 

She dismissed the message – ‘Don’t know if you’re ok with this or not but I thought I’d give it a shot. hi’ – as spam.

But when Katie sent a follow up to Steven via a genealogy website they realized the sender was their estranged daughter, who had just turned 18.

The teenager took a train to Virginia in June 2016 to meet her biological parents.

The meeting was a success and weeks later Alyssa and Steven were in Wingdale, New York, to watch Katie’s high school graduation. 

‘Her voice sounds like mine. Even though we weren’t around each other we spoke in the same way,’ Alyssa recalled excitedly. 

‘She was a black sheep in a good way, sort of like me. She stood out from the crowd. She was an independent young woman, she was funny, she was sarcastic. Seeing all those traits in her was amazing.’  

Alyssa discovered the alleged incestuous relationship after reading her younger daughter’s journal, where the 11-year-old wrote Katie was pregnant and the baby would be a ‘half demon’. Pictured: Alyssa, Katie and the two younger daughters in June 2016, the first time meeting Katie

Steven told Alyssa in March 2017 that their 11-year-old daughter was acting up whenever she visited him. He brought along the troubled youngster’s journal for Alyssa to read – the girl had made frightening drawings of her father and sister with devil horns and tails

 The confused sibling, 11, had drawn pictures of her pregnant sister and father, depicting them as devils and stating that, since her dad was ‘Satan’, Katie’s child would be born ‘half-demon’

The girl had made frightening drawings of her father and sister with devil horns and tails, writing: ‘Katie is pregnant. Dad says they feel like couples. Did they get a little too drunk that night? My dad is a slut’

The 11-year-old wrote in her journal about her father Steven: ‘He’s Satan. He’s f**king SATAN. He’ll go to hell but he won’t be the one getting tortured, he’ll be the one torturing people’

In another harrowing entry, the child wrote: ‘My dad calls her baby also his baby. Did he make her pregnant? My dad even says she’s my stepmom wtf. He doesn’t even want me to say or call her sister anymore’

By August of that year mom, dad and their three daughters were living under one roof for the first time. It was hardly a happy family, however, as behind the scenes Alyssa and Steven’s marriage was crumbling and the couple had discussed divorce. 

Steven, who worked from home testing products for Amazon, began to spend more time alone with Katie, spending nights sleeping on her bedroom floor. 

When Alyssa complained it was inappropriate she says he flew into a rage. 

‘He became furious. How dare I suggest that anything might be going on. He was throwing things, he was yelling,’ Alyssa said.

‘I spoke to Katie and she assured me she was just trying to help us keep the peace.’ 

When Alyssa decided to move out several months later, taking their two younger daughters with her, Katie chose to stay with her father. 

Alyssa suspected her ex-husband was slowly poisoning her relationship with Katie but never suspected her ex was capable of incest.

That was to change, however, when Steven asked to speak with her in March 2017 about their 11-year-old daughter, who he said was acting up whenever she visited him.

He brought along the troubled youngster’s journal for Alyssa to read – and what the shaken mom discovered inside its pages would tear her world apart. 

The girl had made frightening drawings of her father and sister with devil horns and tails, writing: ‘Katie is pregnant. Dad says they feel like couples. Did they get a little too drunk that night? My dad is a slut. 

‘He’s Satan. He’s f**king SATAN. He’ll go to hell but he won’t be the one getting tortured, he’ll be the one torturing people. ‘

Alyssa lays the blame squarely on her ex-husband, insisting Steven brainwashed and seduced Katie after she moved into their marital home in Henrico, Virginia. ‘There are no words to describe the sense of betrayal and disgust I’m feeling’

 The disgusted mother and ex-wife said Steven said ‘his mother knew. He said [Katie’s] adoptive parents knew, that they didn’t like it at first but they’ve all come to accept it’

Alyssa has little sympathy for her ex-husband but wants to see Katie (pictured with her child) treated as the victim of her father’s alleged predatory, incestuous desires rather than a perpetrator. She said: ‘Even though she was an adult at the time, he was the father and he should have stopped any feelings between them. That is all on him’

The journal writing continued: ‘Wait one second if he’s Satan and Katie is a human then the baby will be half demon.’ 

In another harrowing entry, the child wrote: ‘My dad calls her baby also his baby. Did he make her pregnant? My dad even says she’s my stepmom wtf. He doesn’t even want me to say or call her sister anymore. 

‘Katie is my sister, she’s probably his wife now, but in nature she’s only my sister. Does she see me as a daughter or sister?’ 

Alyssa believes Steven wanted her to read about the alleged incest because he was too cowardly to tell her himself.

‘I lost it. I started screaming. I felt like I was going to throw up,’ recalled Alyssa, choking back tears.

She said: ‘I called him and I said so there was something in this journal that I should be concerned about? I said is Katie pregnant with your baby? He said I thought you already knew. 

‘I just tore into him, I was screaming. I said is this why you’ve been trying to rush our divorce, are you trying to marry her and he said, yes. 

‘He said his mother knew. He said [Katie’s] adoptive parents knew, that they didn’t like it at first but they’ve all come to accept it.

‘That they are not going to change for anyone. That they are in love and if anyone finds out he would leave town with Katie and leave everything else behind.’ 

Alyssa alerted police to the journal’s contents and immediately sought a protective order for her younger daughters, with whom she and Steven shared joint custody under the terms of their divorce. 

The order was granted which meant Alyssa was similarly barred from contacting either Steven or Katie and hasn’t spoken to either since. 

Alyssa alerted police to the journal’s contents and immediately sought a protective order for her younger daughters. Pictured: The family home near Richmond, Virginia, where Steven lived with his wife and two kids before moving to North Carolina with Katie

It wasn’t until January 27 of this year, however, that the pair were arrested at their new marital home in Knightdale, North Carolina, that they shared with Steven’s mother.

According to warrants issued by Henrico County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, they are both charged with incest, adultery and contributing to delinquency.

They could face up to ten years behind bars if found guilty. Steven has since been released on $1 million bond, however Katie remains behind bars at Wake County Detention Center pending her extradition hearing on February 28.

‘She’s a breastfeeding mother. She’s in there struggling emotionally and physically. But he’s used whatever financial resources he can get his hands on to get himself out, not her,’ raged Alyssa. 

She continued: ‘That should tell you all you need to know about what kind of husband and father he is. There is no way I’m ever having him around his daughters again. I think he needs to go to jail and pay for what he’s done. 

‘Even though she was an adult at the time, he was the father and he should have stopped any feelings between them. That is all on him.’ 

Alyssa has little sympathy for her ex-husband but wants to see Katie treated as the victim of her father’s alleged predatory, incestuous desires rather than a perpetrator. 

She says it’s too early to say if she and Katie can ever rebuild their relationship but hopes by speaking out, her eldest child will realize she doesn’t hate her or wish to see her suffer. ‘I don’t think prison is the answer for her,’ said Alyssa. 

‘I think she needs to get some therapy. She needs to get some help, she needs to be shown how to prioritize that child and rebuild her life.’ 

Katie’s adoptive parents Kelly and Anthony Fusco could not be reached for comment and did not return calls. 

When DailyMail.com approached Grace Pladl for comment she smiled, shook her head and closed the door to her Knightdale home without saying a word.