Texas Man Forced To Pay Child Support For 13 Years For A Baby DNA Proved Was Not His

Texas man, Willie Carson, was ordered to pay child support for 13 years even though DNA proved the girl is not his biological child. Carson said he often went without enough food to eat and electricity in order to pay the child support. Even though the Houston resident was finally able to prove the child he has never met is not his, the state is still seeking $21,000 in back child support payments.

Willie Carson was named as the father on the baby’s birth certificate by her mother. DNA testing reportedly proved, without a doubt, that he was not the biological parent. The Texas man thought that proving the child was not his would put an end to the child support action, but he was wrong and his paychecks were soon garnished.

“I’ve never seen the child. I never spoke to the child. I don’t know what the child looks like,” Carson said during an interview with MyFoxHouston. “There were days that I didn’t eat. I went without electricity.” Willie Carson is hopeful that the judge overseeing the Texas child support case will finally put an end to the garnished wages, which were forfeited to help cover the care of a child with which he has no biological connection.

Texas law states that once parental rights are terminated, child support responsibilities cease. The future might look brighter for Willie Carson’s finances, but the past due child support bills remain in effect. Any possibilities that the overdue child support payments will be forgiven, or a refund issued for the money already paid, rests solely in the hands of the judge in charge of the pending case.

Currently, there is no provision in Texas state law to allow refunds for child support paid in error. The use of DNA to reverse parental rights decisions was reportedly “next to impossible” until the Willie Carson case. The Houston man is not the only Texas resident to be caught up in a contested “baby daddy” child support case. Ray Thomas found himself in a similar situation in 2011, according to local news station, KHOU.

Ray Thomas owed even more in back child support than Willie Carson. Thomas reportedly owed $50,000 in overdue child support for a baby, which was not his biological child – $13,000 of that amount was interest on the arrears. “I don’t understand the judge can just give you a baby that ain’t yours,” Thomas said.

The mother of the child in the Willie Carson case wrote a letter to the judge stating that the man initially placed on the birth certificate is not indeed the father and should not be forced to pay child support.

What do you think about the Willie Carson child support case? Will more similar instances likely occur due to confusion of the baby daddy?

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