Outrageous - man out $12K and jailed 2 years on bogus paternity

A Philadelphia man was forced to pay more than $12,000 in child support for another man's daughter and spent two years in jail for falling behind on payments.

Petitions he filed for DNA testing were opposed by the court's domestic relations officials and denied by the judge.

Walter Sharpe and his attorney, Tabetha Tanner, claim his identity was stolen in 2002, when he met with agency officials and provided identification showing he was not the father. Instead, his personal information was entered into the agency's computer records, he said.

Officials in the court's domestic relations office would not respond to the newspaper's questions. They said in court papers that they determined Walter Sharpe was the father "after reasonable investigation."

Curious that a "reasonable investigation" of paternity didn't actually include a ummm...actual paternity test.

posted by Purple Avenger at 12:26 PM

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