Reported by deathandtaxes: “Statutory rape victim compelled to pay $15,000 in child support” (9/2/14).
When he was 14 years-old, Nick Olivas had sex with a 20-year-old woman. Which, we all know, is statutory rape – a 14-year-old cannot consent to sex with an adult. He says he did not realize at the time that he was being taken advantage of, or that he could press charges.
Eight years later, he found out that not only does he have a child with this woman, but that he owes her $15,000 in back child support and medical bills.
Via USAToday:
[T]wo years ago, the state served him with papers demanding child support. That’s how he found out he had a then-6-year-old daughter.
“It was a shock,” he said. “I was living my life and enjoying being young. To find out you have a 6-year-old? It’s unexplainable. It freaked me out.”
He said he panicked, ignored the legal documents and never got the required paternity test. The state eventually tracked him down.
Olivas said he now owes about $15,000 in back child support and medical bills going back to the child’s birth, plus 10 percent interest. The state seized money from his bank account and is now garnisheeing his wages at $380 a month.
Though Olivas says he wants to be in his daughter’s life and is willing to pay child support going forward, he does not believe he should be held accountable for the years he didn’t even know he had a child – and when he, in fact, was a child himself. Which seems more than fair…
Courts in similar cases have held that statutory rape victims can be held liable for child support, because the money is not owed to the rapist but to the child. Also, because the child’s mother sought state assistance in this case, the state is claiming that he actually owes them the money…
We need to get with the times, and if we believe that a woman should have a choice as to whether or not she wants to have a child, then we have to support men having that choice as well. We also need to understand that men can also be raped and stop acting as though statutory rape doesn’t count if the victim is a boy. That is all bullshit.
Full commentary from deathandtaxes is –> here
What do you think?
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