170 People Nabbed, $58K Collected During Child Support Sweeps In Mercer County: Sheriff

A total of 170 people were arrested and $58,000 in delinquent payments were collected during a three-day child support sweep in Mercer County last week, Mercer County Sheriff Jack Kemler said on Wednesday.

The sweep, which ran from 5 a.m. on Tuesday, April 4, through late Thursday evening, April 6, was part of a statewide operation in all 21 counties. Mercer County topped the state in number of arrests made and total money collected, according to Kemler.

“In most every case, those taken into custody routinely evaded paying court-ordered support for their children,” Kemler said. “Many deliberately ducked out of paying their support, leaving their children without monies for food or shelter.”

Most of those caught in the sweep claimed they lack the means to make their court-ordered child support payments. Each was afforded the opportunity to set up lump sum or scheduled payments as a condition of their release, Kemler said.

A total of 188 people were targeted by 15 teams of officers. This included 179 men and nine women.

Earlier this year, the New Jersey Child Support Council awarded its Sheriff s Office of the Year Award to the Mercer County Sheriff s Office Child Support Enforcement Team for being a consistent leader in the state for child support arrests, warrants executed, and total monies collected to aid children.

This joint effort, led by the Sheriff s Office included detectives and uniformed officers, in addition to members of the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, the Mercer Vicinage Probation and Finance Divisions, Trenton Police Department, the US Marshals Service, and the New Jersey State Police.

“The long-standing cooperation between the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office and the Mercer Vicinage Probation Division has led to one of our most successful and effective child support sweeps,” Mercer County Vicinage Chief Probation Officer Bob MacDonald said. “While you may be able to get away with not paying child support for a while, you can bet the law will eventually catch up with you.”

Kemler advised any parents in Mercer County who are excessively behind on their child support to, Step up to the plate and clear up any long-overdue child support payments.”

For more information on how to file a child support complaint or resolve a child support warrant, contact Detective Stephen Mellick at the Mercer County Sheriff s Office at 609-989-6798.

Patch file photo