Kid Isn't His, but Man Must Pay $30K in Child Support

Carnell Alexander is stuck inside a $30,000 nightmare that has its root in 1987. That's the year the Detroit man's ex-girlfriend had a baby. She wasn't sure who the father was, but was informed she couldn't get aid from the state unless she named one. So she put down Alexander on the welfare application; he had no clue. A court order demanding he pay child support was issued; a summons that he appear in court was delivered to his home, according to records from the late '80s. Except he never got it, reports 7 Action News, which confirmed Alexander was in prison on the date on record. As he tells the news station, "I had no knowledge that I had a child support case against me." He ultimately learned there was a warrant out for his arrest during a traffic stop in 1991, CNN reports.

Alexander says the court told him he owed $60,000—and that it was too late to get a DNA test. He eventually did, which proved what the child's mother says she knew—Alexander wasn't the dad. She asked the court to wipe away the debt, but it only agreed to forgive the child support that was earmarked for her. The $30,000 portion for the child is still owed by Alexander to the state. He won't pay up, and is being threatened with prison. "I feel like I’m standing in front of a brick wall with nowhere to go." (In another strange case, a man raped at age 14 has been ordered to pay child support.)