A Kentucky Republican state representative and Survivor star almost legalized first-cousin incest but has since admitted that he made a mistake in his new bill.
Nick Wilson, 33, introduced House Bill 269 on Tuesday to the House of Committee on Committees. The proposed bill was set to ‘remove first cousin from the list of familial relationships’ that are defined as incest in the state.
He has since redacted it and admitted that he made a mistake, stating that the purpose of the bill was to close a sexual abuse loophole. The edited version has not yet been released on the state’s Legislative Research Commission website.
‘The purpose of the bill is to add “sexual contact” to the incest statute. Currently, incest only applies in cases of intercourse. So sexual touching/groping by uncles, stepdads or anyone with a familial relationship is not included in incest, Wilson said in a Facebook post.
The bill went on to state that incest by sexual contact would be reduced to a Class D felony unless the victim is under 12 years of age, then it would be a Class C felony. Wilson has confirmed that this part of the bill is correct.
Nick Wilson, 33, has admitted that he made a mistake in his new bill that he proposed on Tuesday. The bill was set to remove first-cousin’s from the list that defines incest in Kentucky
The original version of the new legislation is seen with the words ‘first cousin’ crossed out on the state’s official list of family members that would be guilty of incest
Wilson is pictured with his wife in September
‘The fact that I was able to file a bill, catch the mistake, withdraw the bill and refile within a 24 hour period shows that we have a good system,’ Wilson said.
The original version of the bill also set out to amend the definition of ‘violent offender’ to include a person ‘who has been convicted of incest by sexual contact,’ but it is unclear if that is part of the mistake or not.
The current Kentucky law details that a person is guilty of incest if they participate in sexual acts with a person who is ‘his or her parent, child, grandparent, grandchild, great-grandparent, great-grandchild, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, brother, sister, first cousin, ancestor, or descendent.’
Wilson sent DailyMail.com a link to his statement on Facebook where he admitted to his mistake and said: ‘I’m sorry to tell you it’s not the sensational piece.’
When the bill was first released on Tuesday, Wilson faced almost immediate criticism for his proposal.
Fellow Survivor winner and New York public defender Eliza Orlins posted a a reaction video to it on social media.
Orlins started off by saying that Wilson ‘leveraged the fame that he obtained from winning survivor to run for Kentucky state legislator and get elected.’
‘Nick Wilson is not only supporting, but has introduced a bill that would re-classify incest in the state of Kentucky.’
He became a Kentucky state representative in 2022
Wilson posted to Facebook on Wednesday and admitted that he made a mistake in his proposed bill
Before he was a state representative Wilson was a public defender who starred in the CBS reality TV series Survivor and won the 37th season in 2018
‘This is Nick’s top legislative priority,’ Orlins said.
She then urged her followers to ‘flood his office [with phone calls] to make this story known.’
Before he was a state representative Wilson was a public defender who starred in the CBS reality TV series Survivor. He won the 37th season in 2018 and made seventh place when he returned in 2020.
Wilson got married in September 2020 and recently had a baby boy with his wife. He became a Kentucky state representative in 2022.
There are only two states in the county that have made incest legal, Rhode Island and New Jersey, where incest between adults is permitted.
In Rhode Island consensual incest is legal if the person is 16 years of age or older. In New Jersey it is legal if the person is 18 years of age or older.
Though the act is permitted in those states, incest through marriage is not allowed.