Alabama Couple Charged In Rape Scheme To Impregnate Underage Relative

An Alabama couple has been charged with allegedly raping an underage girl in an attempt to get her pregnant so they could have her baby.

Jeremy and Amanda Swann are accused of sexually assaulting the minor- who is related to them- on several occasions, the Selma Times-Journal reported. The 29-year-olds, from Jones, were arrested last week and charged with rape in the first degree of the girl, whose age has not been released.

"They propositioned her to have sex with Jeremy so that she should get pregnant, and so she could have a baby for them," Janet Cole, investigator with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department, told the newspaper. "The victim told us it happened at least six times."

Jeremy's 57-year-old mother, Dianna Swann is also accused of being present during the alleged rapes but doing nothing to prevent it. She was arrested and charged with one count of contributing to the delinquency a minor, police said.

"She was there. She heard the girl screaming, and she did nothing," Cole said.

The couple's alleged scheme was discovered when they filed a petition with the Department of Human Resources to get full custody of the girl. They claimed she was being sexually assaulted by Amanda's mother, Cole told the newspaper.

But the girl told DHS investigators that Amanda and Jeremy were the ones who assaulted her over the past month. During one assault Jeremy placed a ball in her mouth so she couldn't scream, according to court documents obtained by the Associated Press.

Amanda helped the girl to the bathroom after each assault, according to the documents.

Dianna Swan was held on $6,000 bond. The couple's bond is expected to be set Monday at $500,000.

"If anything we will ask that it be increased," District Attorney Michael Jackson told the AP.

Cole said the couple, currently held at the Dallas County Jail, could face additional charges of incest.