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PANAMA CITY BEACH - A woman told her 23-year-old mentally handicapped daughter God wanted her to have sex with her stepfather, say police who arrested the mother and her husband on allegations of lewd and lascivious battery against a disabled person.
The 43-year-old mother and her 48-year-old husband, arrested Wednesday, remained in the Bay County Jail at Panama City on Thursday. His bail was set at $20,000 and hers at $5,000. Their names are being withheld to protect the daughter's identity.
The daughter, who has the mental ability of a 10-year-old, had sex with her stepfather for the past three years at her mother's request, said police Capt. Michael Moring.
"The victim was being manipulated by the mother," Moring said. "She told the victim God wanted her to do it."
Investigators suspect the mother and stepfather wanted the daughter to conceive a child the couple could call their own, Moring said.
A doctor confirmed she had been sexually active but was not pregnant, Moring said. She has been placed in a safe house.
A friend of the handicapped woman discovered the sexual relationship Tuesday and contacted police, Moring said.
He said investigators taped interviews with the suspects that contributed to their arrests.