Forbidden Love Between Siblings

LONDON, May 6, 2008 — -- Danielle Heaney and Nick Cameron are in love.

But their love is taboo. They're half brother and sister.

"I think it would be lovely to grow old together," Cameron, 28, said at the apartment they share in Scotland. "Definitely," Heaney, 22, added, as he kissed her affectionately on the forehead.

There is a name for this: genetic sexual attraction. In Scotland, as in the United States, it's illegal. And Heaney and Cameron have been charged with incest.

"There have been times before the court case came up when I've said, 'Look, we've got to stop this,'" Cameron said. "We never could."

They were sentenced to nine months' probation and banned from any contact.

But the bond remained and they are now back together. The courts allow them to live together, but not sleep together.

"There is a consistent and necessary need to be close to each other physically," Cameron said. "To actually feel each other close."

If they give in to temptation, they'll be sent to jail because Cameron and Heaney share the same mother. But they grew up apart.

Cameron was put into foster care when he was just a toddler. Heaney was raised by their birth mother.

They met only once during childhood, a brief meeting arranged by social services. Then, two years ago, they reunited at a family reunion.

"I think the first time I saw Danielle I found her very attractive," Cameron said. "But I also thought, 'Hang on a second, this is your sister you're talking about.'"

At the time, Heaney was married, so she broached the subject with her husband, with whom she had a daughter: "I said I could grow to love Nick very easily. And funnily enough he said, 'Hopefully, just as a brother?' And I said, 'Of course!'"

Cameron and Heaney became close quickly, sharing secrets and having what they call "tickle fights."

"There were quite a lot of times we would just sort of stop and look into each other's eyes and I think both of us wanted to kiss each other at that point," Cameron said. "But of course we decided against that. And then one day I just decided to heck with it and I just kissed her."