Birmingham, Alabama- A brother and sister have been charged with felony incest after Jefferson County deputies found them having sex earlier this month in Trafford, officials said.

Ronald Stewart Howze, 44, of Trafford and Lori Ann Rotton, 41, of Smyrna, Ga., remain jailed, with bond set at $50,000 each. Rotton makes her first court appearance in the case Thursday. Howze appeared in court last week to get a lawyer and returns in May for a preliminary hearing, records show. If convicted, they face up to 10 years in prison.

Authorities said Howze’s wife telephoned deputies and, when they arrived, pointed them to a home in the 2300 block of Gurley Road on April 7 just after midnight. A deputy saw the siblings having intercourse in the wife’s bedroom.

The deputy asked Howze to stop, get dressed and step outside, said Sgt. Randy Christian, spokesman for the sheriff’s office. The deputy opened the door after a minute and saw they had not stopped, Christian said.

“At that point (Howze) stopped and stated, `I guess I’m going to jail,'” Christian said.

The siblings told authorities they knew they were related and confirmed that they were having sex, Christian said, reading from the incident report. Both had been drinking.

Howze was arrested and Rotton, who appeared to be highly intoxicated, was taken to a hospital and treated for excessive alcohol, Christian said, citing the report. She was charged later.

Howze said in his statement that a doctor had given him a “death warrant.”

“He had been told he had cancer and planned to go out crazy,” Christian said.

Both denied having sex with each other before that night, and Rotton said she had not been raped, Christian said.

Defense attorney Tommy McFarland was appointed to the case last week and said his client told him Tuesday he could not remember what happened. Howze told McFarland he suffers from seizures and has asked to see a psychiatrist.

Christian said officials have no indication Howze or Rotton are mentally impaired.