Man jailed for not supporting someone else's child
 

ADEL, Ga. – A Georgia man spent more than a year behind bars for failing to pay child support for a child that wasn't his, but he was released after DNA tests showed he wasn't the father.

Frank Hatley, 50, had been jailed since June 2008 for not making payments, but two separate DNA tests in the last nine years showed he was not the father of the boy, who is now 21.

Southern Center for Human Rights attorney Sarah Geraghty won Hatley's release at a hearing Wednesday in Superior Court. A court order has also relieved him of his financial obligation to the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

"State child support officials have shown extraordinarily poor judgment in Mr. Hatley's case," Geraghty said.

Although Hatley was freed from making future payments after a 2001 hearing, Superior Court Judge Dan Perkins had ordered him to continue making $16,000 in back payments. He paid $6,000 of that before being laid off from his job.

Perkins ordered Hatley's immediate release Wednesday after determining that he was indigent. Although he was released, Hatley's paternity case is still unresolved. No future hearings are scheduled.

"Out of it all, I just feel like justice should be served for me in this case," Hatley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution shortly after his release. "I shouldn't have to keep being punished for a child that is not mine."

Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison, who had a baby in 1987 and told Hatley the child was his, according to court records. The couple never married and split up shortly afterward.

In 1989, Morrison applied for public assistance through the state Department of Human Resources. Hatley agreed to reimburse the state because he believed the boy was his.

Documents show Hatley paid at least $9,500.

But in 2000, DNA samples showed the two were not related, according to court records. A test earlier this month confirmed that.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090716/...ngfully_jailed

I don't know why but I chuckled at this. Poor guy.

Shit like this infuriates me. He's still gotta pay back $16000 for a child that is not his. BS!

****in WHORE!!

Now he should sue for the money that he already paid in. Too bad he won't get it.

The real father needs to stand up, again.

Where is the justice? Its cases like this that make me have no faith in the court system.

We have some stupid laws on the books but not a damn one to protect an innocent guy like this.

I think in most states even if you end up not being the father, if you acted as a parent for some length of time, you're on the hook for the payments.

And that is total BS, make the actually biological parent foot the bill.. If the dumb bitch slept with too many guys then too ****ing bad..

This. I have a friend going through this right now. Some chick alleged a child was his. He wasn't served properly and thus missed the court date and is now paying child support for a child that isn't his and he can't afford to get it challenged right now (his lawyer for his other custody related paternity issues told him it would be at least $5000 and probably closer to $10k)

Then paternal test should be given at birth. If the bitch can't proove who the father is then she cannot ever receive child support for that child.

Just one of the many reasons Bob Dole never gives a woman his real name.

So, he gets jailed for not paying child support for a child that's not his, is released after it's proved the kid is NOT his....but WAIT!......he still has to pay the $16,000 for past child support?

Superior Court Judge Dan Perkins is an asshole.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's right. I, like KC Native, know someone going through this. He was dumb not to get tested at the beginning and now his whole life is upside down.

Okay. I'm stumped (and I'll bet this guy wishes he had been).

Why is it that he has to continue to pay the child support? What am I missing here?

FAX

The judge is a ****ing assbag!

Agreed.

FYP

We had a case in the local paper here a few months ago that sounded very much like this one. Seems back asswards to me.

Yeah, that too.

I always tell the women I throw the wood to my name is Dane McCloud. Then the bidges pay me support.

exactly-what shity luck

My brother's ex-fiance contacted him 5 yrs after she had a child so they got him for back child support. No paternity test was ever done and IMHO that child looks nothing like my brother. I think the entire system is screwed up. If a woman claims that someone is the father of her child and she wants support, she should pay for the paternity test. Plain and simple.

Always get a paternity test any time a child is claimed to be yours, and refuse to live in a state where it doesn't matter (like California, where a married man is on the hook even if paternity tests prove the kid isn't his).

They have a dumb ass rule the judges follow that says the children should get money from the guys for support even if they are not theirs for the betterment of the child..

Instead of saying, bitch find the real dad..

You've been dating a girl for awhile, she says she's pregnant. How do you ask for a paternity test without ruining everything from there forward if it is yours?

-Someone needs to start a class in how this is handled. $$$$$$$$$

This is just one of those common sense things that should be easily resolved - paternity test says you're not the kid's father? YOU DON'T PAY. THE END. Nothing else makes sense.

I realize the government's looking after the best interest of the child, but sticking some guy just because he was one of many who blew a load in mommy is outrageous. Let the bitch go on welfare if she doesn't know who the real father is. And make her get fixed before she collects anything, too.

Well A: go with your gut feeling.. B: Tell the doctor after delivery that you want a test ran and do not sign shit until after it has been performed..

Good luck with that.

You let it be known when early on in the dating cycle.

Where is Luv?

Good luck with what??

going with your gut feeling??

Telling the doctor?? Because you do not have to sign shit especially if your gut feeling is telling you the kid is not yours..

Or are you talking about staying with the girl if you are not sure it is your child?? If it is not and you question it she is either A: smart and will keep lying to you or B: dumb and will get pissed and say it is not your anyway.. Of course that goes back to if the guy is ignorant himself and cannot see the mountain because the trees are in the way..

Pussy has never clouded a mind in the history of the world. I forget that at times.

I want to blame someone for crap like this. Any suggestions?

We need a blamestorming session.. I blame LaChapelle..

The laws are designed to protect the kids, not the adults. But yes, results like this can be infuriating.

I love you babe, but I got concerns.

That's just about every state, not just Cali.

Word. No one should ever have to pay child support until a DNA test concludes they are the parent of the child.

Why couldn't there be a law where every child born is tested for paternity??? I always thought that would make it easier on guys.

What if the father is your dead brother? Wow

:wayne::wayne::wayne:

Actually It needs to prove she is the mother also.

That would be really messed up. :doh!:


What I want to know is will they ever do anything that holds these women even somewhat responsible for their actions in these cases?

This is one of the reasons why it's not a good idea to date a single mother.

Exactly!!! It should be the woman that is in jail in this case and not the guy. What a ****ing ****!!!

Isn't this fraud of some sort???

FYP

I married a single mom.

I've dated plenty of single moms and had no problems. It's the single ones with no kids who are itching to have a baby that you have to worry about.

paternity fraud

punishable by an almost significant lowering of child support payments... apparently

Child Support Services doesn't care who pays the bill, as long as someone pays it...

A number of years ago, a cop pulls into my driveway behind me, hands me a stack of papers, and says that someone is claiming I was the father of her child. Told me I had 30 days to respond, or they would start garnishing my wages.

Looking over the papers, this woman lived in Iowa (I live in MN), and claimed she had a one-night stand with someone by my name (which is a common name). There was also a description of the guy, which would only describe me if they stopped after "white male".

I had a lawyer friend help me out, and he mentioned that these things can get really nasty. If they tag you as the father for any reason, getting out of the payments is extremely difficult, and getting money back for past payments is pretty much impossible. In the end, I ended up sending a photocopy of my driver's license to Iowa Child Services, and the chick confirmed I wasn't the guy. At that point, I'm sure they moved on the next random guy with my name they could find in the midwest...

Oh, and this was just a couple months after I got married. Good times...

What would that be?

Put them in jail so they can't raise the child so the state has to do it?

What did she do anyway? She whored around. If people want to talk about sterilization programs, that's fine, but what else are you looking for?

It's all Obama's fault.

She committed fraud didn't she?

Use them to create Soylent Green.

This. Exactly. The guy got ****ed and had to go to jail, then gets out and the judge ****s him again by making him pay arrears. Soomeone should rape that judge with a file wrapped with a Brillo pad...

I'm through dating women who have to find a sitter to watch their kid everytime you want to see them. It gets to be a pain in the ass and I'm done dealing with them. Plus I'm not paying for somebody elses mistake.

I seriously think I would go on a shooting spree. What a load of BS.

I understand protecting children, but these laws screw people more than they help.

Again why not get a simple law that states the dumb bitch needs to find the father..

Please explain? My current GF is a single Mom, but she had a tubal.

I've found that it's just more trouble than it's worth. They just can't see you at the drop of a hat and their kid is already going to be top priority. If the kid gets sick they gotta take care of it, if they can't find a sitter you either have to spend time with her and the kid. It sounds like I'm being selfish but if I want to be in a relationship with someone and I'm not married I don't want to constantly be playing second fiddle to their parental responsibility. I damn sure don't want to be paying child support for a kid that's not mine. A single mother has to restrict the amount of time she can see you and when she can see you.

That's even better. It gives you more time to go play with the boys, watch football, etc...:p

Where the hell is Maury when you need him?


Bitch,"I am 110% sure you are his father! Look at him, he looks just like you, Bwaaaaaa!!!"

Dude,"No way."

Crowd," BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Maury,"Dude, ........you are NOT the father......."

Bitch," Whaaaaaaaaaaaa."

Dude,"I'm outta here Bitch"

ROFL yep they Always say 110% even though there are 6 different guys up on stage that had nailed the ho.

I see what you're saying. I suspect you have no children. My son is 10, so I understand how things go when dating a single mom. For someone without kids it sucks. Also, there is no way you are going to get suckered into paying child support this way.

:thumb:

We recently watched "After Innocence", a movie about men getting out of jail after decades behind bars because of DNA evidence clearing them.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436039/

It was a good movie. That's all I got.

what's even worse, trying being a single dad & getting the courts to make HER pay the child support she owes!!!::banghead:

F'ing system sucks :cuss:

Normally i'm not much for sueing but in this case he needs to find out who the real father is and sue him and the mother for every cent he's paid AND will have to pay.

complete bullshit

They are looking out for the kid...they won't bastardize a child.

They don't give a damn about the kid. They just don't want the government to have to pick up the check.

I tell them I am Clayton Wendler

Ooooh, more taxpayer dollars there.

Yeah, but it opens the door to more fun.

Comprehension fail.

Thats correct. I completely missed this...