What Do You Do With An Obligor Who Is $651,000 In Arrears?
Saturday / November 10, 2007
There are few options: How long would it take to
catch up?
On November 8, 2007, wftv.com reported that Orange County,
Florida, deputies arrested Robert Abraham on a
felony warrant for failing to pay a whopping
$651,000 in child support. According to the
report, Mr. Abraham was the "first father ever
charged with a felony for failing to pay child
support in Orange or Osceola counties."
According to the children's mother, she and Mr. Abraham were married for nearly 16 years. In 1991, Mr. Abraham abandoned the family, leaving the mother to raise three children, aged 3, 6 and 9.
Mr. Abraham was ordered to pay as much as $4,000 per month in child support over the years following the family's breakup. Sometimes Mr. Abraham paid; other times he didn't pay. He was adjudged in contempt of court seven times and jailed from time to time.
It's clear that Mr. Abraham abandoned his family. But what should the system do to him? One could argue that it wastes taxpayer dollars to keep him in jail. But if one follows the logic of this argument, one could argue that it wastes taxpayer dollars to keep burglars in jail.
What makes people question the appropriateness of criminal prosecution for failure to pay child support is the perception that the noncustodial parent has not hurt society at large - as in the case of the burglar - but only his own family. But when Mr. Abraham abandoned his family, the taxpayers and the community stepped in to help raise his children. Perhaps deterrence and vindication warrant keeping Mr. Abraham in jail.
According to the children's mother, she and Mr. Abraham were married for nearly 16 years. In 1991, Mr. Abraham abandoned the family, leaving the mother to raise three children, aged 3, 6 and 9.
Mr. Abraham was ordered to pay as much as $4,000 per month in child support over the years following the family's breakup. Sometimes Mr. Abraham paid; other times he didn't pay. He was adjudged in contempt of court seven times and jailed from time to time.
It's clear that Mr. Abraham abandoned his family. But what should the system do to him? One could argue that it wastes taxpayer dollars to keep him in jail. But if one follows the logic of this argument, one could argue that it wastes taxpayer dollars to keep burglars in jail.
What makes people question the appropriateness of criminal prosecution for failure to pay child support is the perception that the noncustodial parent has not hurt society at large - as in the case of the burglar - but only his own family. But when Mr. Abraham abandoned his family, the taxpayers and the community stepped in to help raise his children. Perhaps deterrence and vindication warrant keeping Mr. Abraham in jail.
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