Man Faces Prison for Not Supporting Child Who Isn't His

After learning in the 1990s the state had tagged him as a deadbeat dad, a DNA test showed Carnell Alexander wasn’t the father of his ex-girlfriend’s baby more than 25 years ago.

She agrees, and says she only listed the Detroit man as the dad so she could claim welfare benefits. He claims he’s never even met the now-adult child. She doesn’t dispute that, either.

Nevertheless, the state of Michigan is threatening to throw Alexander in prison if he doesn’t pay $30,000 in back child support, WXYZ, Channel 7, and the Detroit Free Press report.

“I feel like I’m standing in front of a brick wall with nowhere to go,” Alexander told the television station.

Alexander first learned of his deadbeat dad status when an arrest warrant against him turned up in a 1990s traffic stop.

“I knew I didn’t have a child,” he said, “so I was kind of blown back.”

Alexander was also dirt poor, had only an eighth-grade education, worked only occasional jobs, and had no money to hire a private investigator to track down the ex-girlfriend. He said he tried to explain the situation to the court multiple times, but claims he was repeatedly told that it was too late for a DNA test and time was running out for him to pay up.

In a lucky chance encounter with a mutual acquaintance, he did find the ex-girlfriend. He obtained a DNA test that ruled him out as the father and a statement from the ex-girlfriend that backed up his story, but the court wasn’t swayed.

“Case closed,” Alexander said. “I gotta pay for the baby.”

The court apparently is hinging its case on a summons to appear in court on the paternity case supposedly served in the late 1980s. A process server provided a document to the court saying the papers had been delivered, but Alexander refused to sign them.

Alexander said he couldn’t have refused, because he was in prison at the time. “I had no knowledge that I had a child support case against me,” he said.

At one point, Alexander did hire an attorney, but it doesn’t appear any motion to declare the summons void was ever filed. Sorting through the bureaucracy is difficult, he said.

“We know this is not my child, so let’s do what we need to do, what’s right,” he said.

Since the WXYZ story aired late last month, Alexander has gotten some help. Attorney Cherika Harris has offered to represent him pro bono to untangle the mess, the television station said.

“I feel like I have a duty to right this wrong,” Harris said. “This is an injustice that needs to be addressed, so he can move on with his life.”

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Screenshot: WXYZ video