PA Jails Man Four Times for Child Support for Child who's not His
May 20th, 2009 by Robert Franklin, Esq.Here's another story about the child support enforcement system run amok. If I were to bet, I'd put my money on the taxpayers of Pennsylvania footing the bill for their "public servants'" incompetence and apparent malice.
Walter Andre Sharpe has filed a civil suit for damages against Montgomery County, Pennsylvania child support officials for wrongfully charging him with child support for a child who is not his and has apparently been in the custody of its real father all along. In the process, he alleges, they altered their own records to make it appear that Walter was actually the child's father. When he failed to pay, they had him thrown in jail four times.
The fact that the actual father seems to have had custody of the child all along raises the question of why child support officials were trying to tag a man with child support. If they thought support was owed, shouldn't they have been looking for a woman?
To all of the above, add bureaucratic laziness. As this article states, it took the Patriot News newspaper less than an hour to locate the real father who had custody of the child (Penn Live, 5/12/09).
As I said, you can bank on the taxpayers of the State of Pennsylvania paying for this latest example of child support zeal.
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May 20th, 2009 at 10:05 am
Mr. Walter Sharpe had a difficult time holding a job while being incarerated. He also had his reputation damaged. The government ought to pay.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:41 am
....Shouldn't government officials be imprisoned themselves for false imprisonment in this case?
May 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
To Walter Sharpe, I hope you win big, really big. I also hope that some of those officials get fired and made an example of.
Will fairy tales come true
May 20th, 2009 at 10:47 am
No real harm done, after all he just a man. What's the big deal? Jees! (Sarcasm)
May 20th, 2009 at 10:52 am
How about: $500,000 per day for Mr. Sharpe for each day of ifalse incarceration?...We do have to wonder about how many men who are not the father just keep paying because they don't have the stamina to fight back? Their stories won't get in the newspaper....
May 20th, 2009 at 11:11 am
There ought be a Wall of Shame. A website that exposes the names and pictures of people who destroy and hurt legally innocent fathers. If their home and work addresses are in the public domain, use Google maps.
Each person posted ought to be charged with wasting taxpayer's money and corruption, among other crimes against fathers and families.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am
"PA Jails Man Four Times for Child Support for Child who's not His"
Things such as this are unfortunate but we have to remember it is all in "the best interest of the child." We also must protect all women from financial "oppression."
May 20th, 2009 at 11:49 am
So basically it's just collateral damge NE.
Fellas, it does not matter if you are married or not, there is mark on your head. That's the message I get. It's just a matter of time.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Ann Thornburg Weiss, Clerk of Courts, Alice J. Hendrickson, Chief Deputy; Linda M. Sulock, Second Deputy, and Gail A. Weilheimer, Esq., Solicito are leaders of Montgomery County Clerk of Courts. They are the child support "system."
There is a picture of Ann here.
http://coc.montcopa.org/coc/site/default.asp
Mr. Walter Sharpe's troubles started with one or all of these people. And they are paid with federal and county taxpayer's money.
May 20th, 2009 at 11:52 am
pjk Says:
May 20th, 2009 at 10:52 am
How about: $500,000 per day for Mr. Sharpe for each day of false incarceration?...
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If the consequence of wrongful incarceration was as severe as pjk suggests, officials would pay far more attention as to who and on what grounds they put in hand cuffs and in jail!
Attila
May 20th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Charge them with violation of the constitution.
Maybe we can have the local military personnel and patriots take notice.
May 20th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Another prime example of why all civil courts should absolutely be stripped of any power to jail anyone.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Sorry to go against the grain but money is no substitute for this treatment. I have no price. Why would I want the very thing that attracted these @#$%$# in the first place?
The more money you have, the more elitist jack offs looking for ways to separate you from it.
Money is the root behind the whole child abduction/extortion racket. Why do you all think the judges, attorneys, cops etc.. are involved, for their health? They want lots o money and its their fixation on this that drives us to think we want it too.
When we get emotional about money or think of it as a barter for our lives, then they know they have us.
The only reasonable restitution for this is for it not to have happened in the first place.
May 20th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
When a mistake is made in good faith, I have no problem with the immunity granted to prosecutors and other people working in the government.
However, this case is so far beyond reasonable as to demand the removal of that legal concept and hold these people accountable for a malicious prosecution.
Firing them and letting the bill fall on the taxpayers is NOT a remedy. Incarcerating them and forcing them to sacrifice some assets on their own is the only thing that will effectively stop and deter this sort of behavior.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
Child support system leaders work for Judges. judges and their staff and thee employees are government agencies.
There is no way a State Prosecutor (also a government employee is going to do anything. Even if the civil court judges look at this they are not going to rule against one of their own.
Child Support people and judges are the very soldiers in the war against fathers.
Ring, Ring. Clue phone. It's for you.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Wrong number Chris
If a big enough stink is made by the public something will happen to these people.
But that would mean people would actually have to get off their computers and do something.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
I hope he wins and bankrupts the county.
May 20th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
The Country is already bankrupted.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Throw the country in debtor's prison. Deadbeats.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
"Firing them and letting the bill fall on the taxpayers is NOT a remedy. Incarcerating them and forcing them to sacrifice some assets on their own is the only thing that will effectively stop and deter this sort of behavior."
agreed
Of course after giving them a fair trial like the ones we fathers and children have had.
Not a rhetorical question but does anyone have any ideas as to who would prosecute the prosecutors? We keep harping on the courts and such but perhaps our discontent is misdirected. For the life of me I havent a clue as to who oversees these overseers. Some department or agency perhaps? My congressman is to busy counting bailout money for the banks to answer my question.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
bell said, "For the life of me I haven't a clue as to who oversees these overseers."
I asked the judge for an Audit as the support statement (that they charge $4 per page to give me) was inaccurate.
The Child Support Supervisor wrote the Audit report. It was also inaccurate. When I asked her if she prorated a few of the debits because the orders were in the middle of a monthly cycle (like $2,000 worth), she said, "What does prorate mean?"
When I pressed for specifics she said she's worked for the government for 10 years but had no formal education in accounting. No CPA. No account degree. No certification. No wonder the support statement and Audit report is inaccurate.
They police themselves.
May 20th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
re: Not a rhetorical question but does anyone have any ideas as to who would prosecute the prosecutors?
....usually nobody. The Kern County Calif. prosecutor who threw dozens of people in jail on fake child molestation charges in the 1980s is still in office, even. Some of these people rotted in jail for 20 years...
May 20th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I was researching "English Common Law", which the format used to design out legal system, I found the Sheriff to be responsible for upholding constitutional law, and prosecuting on complaints where rights have been violated.
Bringing the case to civil court is the right thing to do here. That judge may decide the child support office operated in a malicious manner which warrants referral to the DA's office to follow up with criminal charges. I hope in this case it's concluded with charged filed. Intentionally causing harm needs to be charged when officials do it, as in citizens.
We have to start demanding government is held accountable for unjustified decisions. At minimum be removed from any position of authority.
May 21st, 2009 at 5:48 am
Gosh, was he thrown in jail by the same Pennsylvania judges who took over $2.6 million in cash kickbacks for sending children to a for-profit, private prison lockup for minors?
Judges are just such a wonderful force in America, aren't they?
That's why we give them "judicial immunity"!
Someone needs to be able to brutalize the citizens of America with impunity!
May 21st, 2009 at 7:19 am
There will always be an abundance of crooks out there. If the child support system is ever reformed, those kind of unethical people will just re-surface in some other industry.
May 21st, 2009 at 10:17 am
Talk about being on bigotted autopilot. " Sir, isn't that kid already living with his father?, Never mind that we have the children to think about and we are the government"
May 21st, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I whole heartedly stand with all parents who will demand JUSTICE- I have also been victumized by MONT>CO D R S-- they behave like tyrants- And boast about being the leader of support collections and enforcement of Title IV D -{they even have a banner on the wall}--This is truly a currupt consept of "law and order' ----parents - we must come together and stand against this treason and travesty to AMERICAN FAMILLIES--GO to the court houses and protest--every friday- saturday --whenever you can-- I have been protesting with Fathers 4 justice PA and have been to montco - bucks-lehigh-lancaster-phila-delaware countys and even Harrisburg and Trenton- and DC--WE need your support-volinteer show up -UNITED WE STAND--
May 28th, 2009 at 11:56 am
to many people think they can find right in there state courts, however I remind you State courts are "NOT" Article three courts of law, they are Admin Courts, courts of procedure,,in custody and support, they are procedurally decided, there is no Independent decisions, its all established in a book, and when a judge does vary from procedure they have to go into a long explanation of why they varied, for which then the state at its discretion may vary from for there enterest, which is purely pecuniary....many states have waived all oversight of these agencies for reasons of accountability, which then puts the public in a cookie since the only place you can go for vindication is the same place that screwed you in the 1st place...separation of powers anyone?
September 3rd, 2009 at 10:28 pm
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