ADEL, Ga. -- A man who spent more than a year behind bars for failing to pay child support for a child who wasn't his was ordered released from jail today.
Frank Hatley, 50, was jailed in June 2008 for not making payments prior to a court order relieving him of his financial obligation to the Georgia Department of Human Resources.
Two DNA tests in the past nine years showed he was not the father of the boy, who is now 21. The judge who ordered the payments acknowledged as much in court documents.
Although he was freed from making future payments after a 2001 hearing, Superior Court Judge Dan Perkins ordered him to continue making $16,000 in back payments. He paid $6,000 of that before being laid off from his job.
Sarah Geraghty, an attorney for the Southern Center for Human Rights, won Hatley's release at a hearing today in Superior Court.
"State child support officials have shown extraordinarily poor judgment in Mr. Hatley's case," Geraghty said.
Superior Court Judge Dane Perkins ordered Hatley's immediate release 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.
Comments
That is just crazy BS on the part of the judge. How can you hold someone responsible for a child that isn't theirs. If the judge wants to money to be paid then he should pay it. Thats just crazy. How many other men are being made made to pay for a child by this judge thats is not theirs? I wonder if the judge was told to pay money for a child thats not his would he do it? I think not. DNA is good enough to get you out of a murder but not good enough to get you out of child support (lol).
I think the state should reimburse him for every penny he ever spent plus loss time and wages...that's totally unexcusable. Somebody really dropped the ball on this one. Maybe he should sue the state. I'm sure he could be reimbursed somehow......
From what I understand, even if a child is not biologically yours, but you were married to the mother and raised the child as your own, you may indeed be required to continue support after the marriage ends. I don't know if this is the case here or not. But to put this man through what he has been through over a child not biologially his, and allow so many deadbeat dads who continue to make more and more babies to remain free is just assinine!!!!!! There are much more deserving true deadbeats out there than this man!! He must have said the wrong thing to the wrong judge or the judge is just a moron trying to make a point by making an example of him when hes not the best candidate to do that with!!!!
And I know of one case that the child will be 6 soon, and his biological father has never paid a penny child support. No papers have been served on him. everytime someone finds him, the ones serving the papers wait till he has run again.
they found him one time and gave the papers to someone to give him, and he was a no-show.
More like this to come from the Obama government. Soon we'll all be paying for other peoples kids. Don't want to pay for Ta'kQuadrian's or Billy Joe Bob's 6th kid, too bad; off to jail for you.
What do you mean "soon we will be paying". Hey we've been paying for other people's kids for about 50 years now. Lay up, have another baby and wait for the check to go up. Now we will pay for other people's healthcare. And when Cap and Trade hits the welfare queen's pocketbook's we will be paying for other people's electric bills. We will just get a little more tax from the "rich" people. Oops, what do you mean all of the rich people moved to Costa Rica. Well, maybe we will tax the corporations. What? All of the corporations have move the China. They figured they would be better off in a country that is OWED money instead of one that OWES money. Guess we will just have to tax the middle class to pay for all of this crap. What? Cap and Trade made all of the middle class lower class. No middle class left. Aww crap. See what that damned Bush and Cheney did.
Obama was not president in 1987
TakeAstand, in the article it says the 2 NEVER married and split up a short time after.
Seems like in this system, the left hand has difficulty determining what the right hand is doing. I thought technology would help straighten things out. When?
How many "dead-beat" dads continue to walk the streets of Georgia's towns and cities? One would be one too many.
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