Gabriel Cornejo, a 45 year old man from Texas, is having to battle in court to pay child support rears to the tune of $65,000 for a child that isn’t is… and the mother of the child is demanding, STILL, that he pay.
Cornejo learned that the child was not his and for a while wasn’t even aware that she existed. He’s met her once and described her as a “wonderful girl” then he had a DNA test done, learning that she was not his child. Despite this, the mother of the child and the state are demanding he pay up.
At some point some child support was taken out of his paycheck to which he didn’t contest and according to the mother of the child, and Cornejo’s ex-girlfriend, and her lawyer this makes it OK. Seriously, I can’t make this stuff up!
As reported by Fox News:
Gabriel Cornejo, who is currently raising three children of his own and two nephews, claimed that he was not made aware of this and only found out about the child support payments last year when a deputy served him court papers claiming that the state of Texas lists him as having another child. He soon met the minor for the first and only time – describing her as a “wonderful girl” – but after taking a DNA test, learned she was not his after all.
Only Cornejo’s ex-girlfriend and the state still want the $65,000 in back payments.
“I never thought in my whole life I would have to defend myself of something that I am innocent of,” he said.
Texas’ family code, chapter 161, states that even if one is not the biological father, they still owe support payments that accrued before the paternity test proves otherwise. In Cornejo’s case, that amounts to some $65,000.
His ex-girlfriend’s attorney, Carel Stith, claimed that money was taken out of Cornejo’s paycheck several years ago and he didn’t contest it, and that in itself can satisfy a court argument that he should have handled the matter long ago.
“There can be consequences, even if you don’t do anything,” Stith told local news.
