Ohio: This article appeared in today's local paper:
Man who owes more than $30,000 in child support gets 11-month sentence
A former Wayne County man who owes more than $30,000 in child support was sentenced to 11 months in prison on three counts of criminal nonsupport of dependents on Friday afternoon.
...public defender Lisa Brown had...recommended probation for Terry Osborne, but Wayne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark K. Wiest decided probation wasn't appropriate.
"Why are we suddenly to think you will be paying $400 per month?" Wiest asked, noting Osborne's criminal record and a long pattern of not paying child support. "I just don't see the purpose of probation here Mr. Osborne."
Osborne's child support order is for $350 per month. The additional $50 per month would have been used to pay off his child support debt.
......only $2,000 had been collected since his divorce nearly eight years ago for Osborne's three children....(ex-wife Kim Manson) said in addition to her own children, Osborne has another child with another woman...
"I just think he is a big liar," said Osborne's 15-year-old daughter, Lisa, who spoke very briefly to her father before he left the courtroom.
...The sentencing was the culmination of many years of court actions for nonpayment and an eventual search for Osborne, who was most recently living in Louisiana. He was transported back to Ohio by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office...
...The nonpayment and lack of involvement by Osborne has severely affected the children's lives, said Manson. She said she remembers at the age of 22 returning home one afternoon with three young children to find all the utilities had been shut off and the food freezer missing from the house. The family ended up in a shelter and eventually on public assistance.
"I pulled myself up...I am proud to say I don't get any assistance from Human Services"...."(There are) a lot of mothers that wouldn't have been on aid if they had been getting their child support."
...Osborne admitted to Wiest to working "under the table" for $6 an hour in Louisiana, avoiding child support. "He would work at a job until support caught up with him, then change jobs...Then he started working under the table, working for a man repairing houses and the guy knew he had child support payments," Manson said....She said her husband only sporadically visited his children, most recently favoring one child over the other two.
She said some of the behavior problems she has had with her children are a direct result of not having a father active in their lives...."Many days I can remember that they would stand at the door looking out, waiting for dad. He would say he was coming around and then he didn't show up."
..."Any father is better than no father around," said Leisy, who discourages those seeking support from spouses from putting children in the middle. "Even though your ex-husband isn't paying support, you shouldn't deny visitation."
...But will the state or Manson ever receive monetary restitution from Osborne? Both Manson and Leisy agree it is doubtful.
..."No," conjectured Leisy. "The system will never be set up to address a guy that says, 'I would rather go to jail than pay child support.'"
Man who owes more than $30,000 in child support gets 11-month sentence
A former Wayne County man who owes more than $30,000 in child support was sentenced to 11 months in prison on three counts of criminal nonsupport of dependents on Friday afternoon.
...public defender Lisa Brown had...recommended probation for Terry Osborne, but Wayne County Court of Common Pleas Judge Mark K. Wiest decided probation wasn't appropriate.
"Why are we suddenly to think you will be paying $400 per month?" Wiest asked, noting Osborne's criminal record and a long pattern of not paying child support. "I just don't see the purpose of probation here Mr. Osborne."
Osborne's child support order is for $350 per month. The additional $50 per month would have been used to pay off his child support debt.
......only $2,000 had been collected since his divorce nearly eight years ago for Osborne's three children....(ex-wife Kim Manson) said in addition to her own children, Osborne has another child with another woman...
"I just think he is a big liar," said Osborne's 15-year-old daughter, Lisa, who spoke very briefly to her father before he left the courtroom.
...The sentencing was the culmination of many years of court actions for nonpayment and an eventual search for Osborne, who was most recently living in Louisiana. He was transported back to Ohio by the Wayne County Sheriff's Office...
...The nonpayment and lack of involvement by Osborne has severely affected the children's lives, said Manson. She said she remembers at the age of 22 returning home one afternoon with three young children to find all the utilities had been shut off and the food freezer missing from the house. The family ended up in a shelter and eventually on public assistance.
"I pulled myself up...I am proud to say I don't get any assistance from Human Services"...."(There are) a lot of mothers that wouldn't have been on aid if they had been getting their child support."
...Osborne admitted to Wiest to working "under the table" for $6 an hour in Louisiana, avoiding child support. "He would work at a job until support caught up with him, then change jobs...Then he started working under the table, working for a man repairing houses and the guy knew he had child support payments," Manson said....She said her husband only sporadically visited his children, most recently favoring one child over the other two.
She said some of the behavior problems she has had with her children are a direct result of not having a father active in their lives...."Many days I can remember that they would stand at the door looking out, waiting for dad. He would say he was coming around and then he didn't show up."
..."Any father is better than no father around," said Leisy, who discourages those seeking support from spouses from putting children in the middle. "Even though your ex-husband isn't paying support, you shouldn't deny visitation."
...But will the state or Manson ever receive monetary restitution from Osborne? Both Manson and Leisy agree it is doubtful.
..."No," conjectured Leisy. "The system will never be set up to address a guy that says, 'I would rather go to jail than pay child support.'"
"bout time"