Can this even be real? A Detroit man may be facing jail time for failing to pay $30,000 in back child support. The issue? The child is not his biological child. A paternity test has even verified that he is, in fact, not the father.
Carnell Alexander was back in court Friday to face a Detroit judge at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, fearing that he would be sent to prison. “I stayed up all night. Couldn’t sleep thinking about it,” Alexander told 7 Action News, which broke the story.
The judge in the case gave Alexander a reprieve of sorts, allowing the case to be postponed one month so that his new attorney, Cherika Harris, who has taken the case pro bono, will have enough time to get caught up.
To understand how Alexander found himself involved in such a mess, we must go back to the late ’80s, when an ex-girlfriend had just had a baby. While applying for welfare, she was instructed that she had to list the child’s father. She named Alexander as the father on state paperwork, and from that day, the state began building a case against Alexander, seeking restitution for the services that were provided to the child.
According to the news station, a process server noted that Alexander had been made aware of the state’s inquiries, since he had been given papers at his Highland Park home.
One problem: This never happened. – The Root.
Alexander was actually in prison for a crime he committed back then. The Michigan Department of Corrections records even verifies this.
Alexander adds that he didn’t learn of the child support claims against him until he was pulled over for a traffic violation in 1991. He was subsequently arrested and taken to jail.
“I’m almost homeless. I’m almost in jail. I am out of work. My money is threatened to be taken,” Alexander told the news station.
As for the child he adds, “I haven’t even had a chance to speak to him except for one time when we took a DNA test.”
“We can be defaulted into being a father of a child that is not ours,” Alexander also tells the news station. “I don’t understand the law, but we do have that law in place.”
We’ll keep you posted on how this story unfolds.
What are your thoughts sweethearts, do you think he should fork over the 30,000 or should the state of Michigan release him of any obligation to do so?
Furthermore, should the mother in the case be held responsible?
