A Philadelphia man was jailed for two years after falling behind on the $12,000 in
child support he was ordered to pay. The only problem is he isn't the father of the child.
Walter Sharpe was ordered to pay $12,000 in child support for another man's daughter. When he fell behind on making payments, he was jailed. Sharpe continually petitioned the judge for a paternity test, and was denied each time. It wasn't until the mother of the child failed to appear at a court hearing that the paternity order was finally overturned.
Frank Hatley has a similar story. Hatley spent a year in South Georgia's Cook County jail for failing to make child support payments, despite the courts' knowledge that he had no children. A DNA test even confirmed he was not the father of the child involved in the case.
Who or what is to blame for this injustice?
Chicago fathers' rights attorney Jeffrey M. Leving believes the system is broken, and that paternity fraud has cost fathers around the country thousands of dollars in unjust child support fees and unfair time spent behind bars.
In fact, a report issued by the American Association of Blood Banks found that nearly 30 percent of paternity tests conducted in the U.S. concluded that the man is not the child's biological father. Despite discovering that "their" child is in fact another man's child, many of these fathers continue to be held responsible for making child support payments. If they do not comply, they face the possibility of jail time.
The courts purpose for reinforcing child support is to ensure the child is financially provided for. However, the actual biological fathers of the children aren't the ones paying support, and they are the ones who should be.
Although it is sometimes easier for the state to collect money from the non-biological father, these men should not be taken advantage of because the state can't find the biological father.
Leving is encouraging legislators to draft fair paternity fraud bills that require the courts to collect DNA testing when it is requested. He is also requesting the Supreme Court to hear the next paternity fraud case, as a correct ruling would help support justice for these men.
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