Willie Carson has been paying child support for 13 years—or, rather, because he has been behind in his child support payments, his wages have been garnished for 13 years. There are days when the Houston resident has been unable to eat and has had to go without electricity.
And here is the kicker: The 13-year-old girl is not Carson's daughter; DNA has proved this to be the case. In fact, there is a 0.00 percent chance that Carson is the father.
"I've never seen the child. I never spoke to the child. I don't know what the child looks like," Carson told My Fox Houston.
But wait, it gets worse: The Texas judicial system is fully aware of this and has told Carson that finding out now that the 13-year-old isn't his daughter only absolves him of having to make any future child support payments. Carson is still obligated to pay the $21,000 he reportedly owes in back child support.
Because the girl's mom named Carson as the father on the birth certificate, Carson is responsible for the child support payments. It doesn't matter that the girl's mom wrote a letter to the court explaining that Carson is not the dad.
The way Texas sees it, Carson is still responsible up to the point when a DNA test proved him not to be the father, which means he owes for those back years. And get this: There are no refunds.
Carson has another court appearance Monday, and he is hoping for the best. "I'm hoping for it, but the judge has the last say-so," he said, My Fox Houston reports.
Carson isn't the first Texas man left befuddled by the state's child support laws. Clifford Hall was locked up even though he overpaid his child support in the Lone Star State.
Read more at My Fox Houston.