Man jailed for not paying child support for kid the court knows is not his

Yonkers · Jul 16, 2009

This sucks. I know there are a lot of dead beat dads out there. But the court system is so skewed towards women nowadays an honest man can't get a break.
Supposedly this is done for the good of the kid. But why is the onus on this guy who ain't even the father?

http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/15/georgia.child.support/index.html

Frank Hatley spent the past year in jail for being a deadbeat dad. But there's one problem -- Hatley doesn't have any children. And the "deadbeat" label doesn't fit the 50-year-old either, his supporters say.
Frank Hatley had been ordered to make back payments even after he learned a teenager wasn't his son.

Frank Hatley had been ordered to make back payments even after he learned a teenager wasn't his son.

After a hearing, Hatley was released from the Cook County Jail in south Georgia Wednesday afternoon, with the help of the Southern Center for Human Rights.

Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins ruled that Hatley was indigent and should not be jailed for not being able to make child support payments. Perkins postponed a decision on whether Hatley should have to make any more back payments on child-support for a child who is not his.

In June of last year, a judge ordered Hatley to jail for failing to reimburse the state for public assistance that was paid to support his "son," who, as the court was aware, is not actually his son.

Hatley's attorney Sarah Geraghty, who filed a motion for his release, called it a case of "blatant unfairness."

Hatley is a hard-working man who demonstrated his desire to pay what the court said he owed, even making payments from his unemployment checks, Geraghty told CNN.

On top of that, "the state has no legitimate reason to pursue Mr. Hatley for child support -- he doesn't have any children," she said.

The story dates back to 1986, when Hatley had a relationship with Essie Lee Morrison. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son.

Morrison told Hatley that the child was his, but the couple ended their relationship shortly after the boy's birth, according to court documents. The couple never married and never lived together, the documents state.

When the boy turned 2, Morrison applied for public support for her son. Under Georgia law, the state can go after the non-custodial parent to recoup the assistance.

For 13 years, Hatley made payments to the state until learning, in 2000, that the boy might not be his biological son. A DNA test that year confirmed that there was no chance he was the father, according to court documents.

Hatley returned to court and was relieved of any future child support reimbursement but was ordered to pay more than $16,000 that he had owed the state before the ruling.

Latesha Bradley, an attorney who represented Hatley in that hearing, told CNN the argument for keeping Hatley liable for the back payments was that he had signed a consent agreement with the office of child support services. The court agreed that Hatley had to comply with the consent agreement for the period that he believed the boy was his son.

Court documents show that Hatley for the most part continued to make payments. He was jailed for six months in 2006 for falling behind on payments during a period of unemployment, but afterward he resumed making payments and continued to do so even after he lost another job in 2008 and became homeless, court records state.

Last year, he again became unable to maintain the payments and was once again jailed.

The circumstances of Hatley's arrest didn't feel right to many, including Cook County Sheriff Johnny Daughtrey.

"I knew the gentleman's plight and didn't know how to help him," Daughtrey told CNN.

About two months ago, when attorneys from the Southern Center for Human Rights visited his jail, Daughtrey alerted them to Hatley's case.
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brantonli24 · Jul 16, 2009

That's awful, and he had been paying for 13 years straight. I know this is impossible, but I would've demanded back 13 years of child support. This guy is all heart:

Court documents show that Hatley for the most part continued to make payments. He was jailed for six months in 2006 for falling behind on payments during a period of unemployment, but afterward he resumed making payments and continued to do so even after he lost another job in 2008 and became homeless, court records state.
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halfbreed · Jul 16, 2009

*Cue Billie Jean*

It sucks but it's the way the law is set up in most states. If you hold yourself out to be the father or if you accept paternity and begin making payments you are on the hook.

I think everyone pretty much realizes how much this sucks for the guy, especially considering that he seems to be continuing to do what he can to make payments despite knowing the kid is not his son.

rhino17 · Jul 16, 2009

that sucks

Rocket River · Jul 16, 2009

ALWAYS TEST
I don't care if it is my Wife. . . I am testing

Rocket River

rhadamanthus · Jul 16, 2009

Rocket River said:

I don't care if it is my Wife. . . I am testing
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Your wife may care.

Rocket River · Jul 16, 2009

rhadamanthus said:

Your wife may care.
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She might but . . . 99.9% positive is worth it.

QUESTION: Isn't conning someone illegal? Getting money based on False pretenses illegal?

How is this not the same thing? Why is the government . . basically acting like the strong arms for a con artist?
[Gimmie the money or we break ya knee caps . .er. . . send you to jail]

Rocket River

mleahy999 · Jul 16, 2009

Hard to believe some judge reviewed this case and continued to enforce the ruling on the owed money. Common sense is seriously lacking here.

david12sfa · Jul 16, 2009

Rocket River said:

She might but . . . 99.9% positive is worth it.

QUESTION: Isn't conning someone illegal? Getting money based on False pretenses illegal?

How is this not the same thing? Why is the government . . basically acting like the strong arms for a con artist?
[Gimmie the money or we break ya knee caps . .er. . . send you to jail]

Rocket River
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Amen! I just feel bad for the kid who now knows that mom is a little hooker!

leroy · Jul 16, 2009

He should sue the state for the money he paid.

Rocketman95 · Jul 16, 2009

david12sfa said:

Amen! I just feel bad for the kid who now knows that mom is a little hooker!
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are you going to ask your girl to have a paternity test when she gets pregnant? if so, can i be in the room when you do?

Air Langhi · Jul 16, 2009

The justice system is a joke. Didn't some kid get prison time for getting a bj.

moestavern19 · Jul 16, 2009

Air Langhi said:

The justice system is a joke. Didn't some kid get prison time for getting a bj.
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Thats Georgia for ya.

My good friend from my high school years was facing 10-20 because he ****ed a girl who had a fake ID and said she was 19.

pirc1 · Jul 16, 2009

Shouldn't they go after the real father of the child?

Space Ghost · Jul 16, 2009

I think I have a bigger issue with the "debtors prison", especially if he had been trying and couldn't afford it.

juicystream · Jul 16, 2009

pirc1 said:

Shouldn't they go after the real father of the child?
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They probably have no idea who the real father is.

rocketsjudoka · Jul 16, 2009

Rocket River said:

She might but . . . 99.9% positive is worth it.

QUESTION: Isn't conning someone illegal? Getting money based on False pretenses illegal?

How is this not the same thing? Why is the government . . basically acting like the strong arms for a con artist?
[Gimmie the money or we break ya knee caps . .er. . . send you to jail]

Rocket River
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The mother might not have known that Hatley wasn't the father. For that matter it wasn't as though Hatley was forced to have sex with the woman and according to the article they weren't married so there wasn't a legal basis to assume fidelity on the part of the woman.

justtxyank · Jul 16, 2009

mleahy999 said:

Hard to believe some judge reviewed this case and continued to enforce the ruling on the owed money. Common sense is seriously lacking here.
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To be fair, it may be a case of the judge not having a choice. If the law is on the books, there isn't a whole lot the judge can do about it.

david12sfa · Jul 16, 2009

Groogrux said:

are you going to ask your girl to have a paternity test when she gets pregnant? if so, can i be in the room when you do?
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sure you can! We can share the beat down together!

Yonkers · Jul 16, 2009

justtxyank said:

To be fair, it may be a case of the judge not having a choice. If the law is on the books, there isn't a whole lot the judge can do about it.
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He can work with the guy (who was jobless and homeless at some point and still trying to pay) and NOT put him in jail. How about start there?

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