Woman opens up about the 'traumatizing' moment she learned she'd slept with her biological brother: 'You are my sister'

A woman has revealed how she learned she had unknowingly slept with her half-brother.

Victoria Hill admitted she was left "traumatized" by the revelation, which came to light after a shocking text from her former partner.

People are opting to take DNA tests to find out about their lineage. Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty

The process of making the disturbing discovery came after Hill found out that a fertility doctor had secretly used his sperm to impregnate her mother.

Hill's experience, reported by CNN, highlights the disturbing trend of fertility fraud.

Hill, like many others, utilized DNA testing services such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe to trace her genetic roots.

What she uncovered left her shocked, as it revealed that her biological father was not who she believed, and she had dozens of half-siblings, all conceived by the same fertility doctor her parents had trusted.

The fertility doctor had used his own sperm in many treatments instead of that of an anonymous donor. Credit: Carlos Duarte/Getty Images

"It was traumatizing," Hill told CNN. "Now I'm looking at pictures of people thinking, well, if he could be my sibling, anybody could be my sibling."

Hill's mother, Maralee, had sought help from fertility doctor Burton Caldwell to conceive. Caldwell claimed he would use sperm from an anonymous medical student but instead used his own without their knowledge.

Hill shared this shocking news with her former boyfriend. Noticing some similarities, he also took a DNA test, which confirmed they were siblings.

He sent her a blunt text message stating: "You are my sister."

"You are my sister". Hill received a text confirming her worst nightmare. Credit: CNN

"I moved to Wallingford in middle school, and we were best friends for years, and then ultimately decided to date and then we decided to go our separate ways because of college," Hill told NBC Connecticut.

"We never ended up marrying and having children, but he is someone who, even to this day, I very much would have considered that, had life taken us in that direction."

Reflecting on this revelation, Hill said: "I’ll just put it out there, I was intimate with my half-brother." 

Hill also discovered that she unknowingly went to primary school with another half-sibling and frequently visited a deli owned by twins who are also related to her.

Janine Pierson, another half-sibling, is pursuing legal action against Caldwell.

She described their encounter with the retired doctor as "awkward" and noted he was "not in any way apologetic."

Pierson said Caldwell admitted that he "never gave it the thought that he should have."

Despite the lack of federal laws on fertility fraud and only 13 states having protections, Pierson and her mother, Doreen, are suing Caldwell for negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, and failure to obtain informed consent. They seek at least $15,000 in damages.

"It shouldn't just be, you know, the Wild West where these doctors can just do whatever it is that they want," Pierson said.

The case of Dr. Donald Cline, who fathered at least 90 children in Indiana, epitomizes the magnitude of this crisis.

A Netflix documentary released in 2022 exposed Cline's actions, prompting bipartisan efforts in Congress to address the issue at the federal level.

Caldwell and his attorney, Patrick J. Sweeney, deny all allegations.

Featured image credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty