A man in Australia is asking for the return of nearly $64,000 in child support payments after a DNA test revealed he is not the father.
After sleeping with a woman, Julie, during a one-night stand 20 years ago, Kerry fronted up AU$58,000 (NZ$63,500) in payments over 18 years for her daughter.
- Australian dad forced to pay $380k in child support at airport
- Child support debts: Overseas parents owe $750 million
The fisherman, who lives in the coastal town of Cervantes in Western Australia, was speaking with a child support consultant who told him their records didn't have a result for a DNA test.
"I said, 'because I didn't have one'," Kerry told Channel 9's A Current Affair.
"And he pretty much on the phone called me a stupid idiot and to go and get one done as soon as I could."
He had a DNA test done, when it was discovered he wasn't the father.
Kerry told A Current Affair he had initially started making payments because he believed he was the father and felt obligated to pay the growing debt.
"The bills started to pile up and I had to take action because if I didn't, they would.
"The first time they froze my account was during a fishing season. I had my passport frozen and told that it wouldn't be reinstated until I had paid the bill in full."
In a statement sent to A Current Affair, Julie denied any intentional wrong-doing, saying instead that Kerry had been offered the opportunity to check the paternity but didn't take it.
"Over the last 18 years Kerry has had the chance to get a DNA test, but as myself and Child Support could never get in contact with him, it never happened, and now he is coming out with accusations that are unfounded and untrue," she said.
Julie will likely be required to pay back the support, but as she is not currently employed, she could pay just $49.80 a fortnight.
After feeling hassled "non-stop" by the Child Support Agency, Kerry now feels as though it should be responsible for repaying him.
"They accepted me as the father without any proof."
Newshub.
