Victim vitriol not a referral standard

The Utah Attorney General’s Office employs two full-time attorneys, two full-time paralegals and one full-time secretary to handle child support cases referred to them for criminal non-support prosecution by the Office of Recovery Services.

The Criminal Non-Support (CNS) section handles cases in the First, Second and Third Judicial Districts, which is basically Salt Lake county and north. Cases referred by ORS from other judicial districts may be handled by the CNS section or by other assistant attorneys general in those particular areas. Persons who have child support cases not handled by ORS can go to their local county or district attorney offices to request prosecution.

The criteria for referral for felony prosecution are: child support arrears over $10,000 and/or non-payments for 18 out of 24 months. While ORS and the Child and Family Support (CFS) division of the attorney general’s office handles the civil child support collections, in many cases they find the civil remedies unproductive or they have exhausted civil remedies without success. ORS and/or the CFS Division attorneys refer child support cases to our section usually as a last attempt to achieve some justice for the custodial parents and their children.

Once a resolution has been reached by agreement or a defendant has been found guilty at trial, the cases are monitored monthly by the CNS paralegals. These paralegals monitor payments of current child support, arrears and restitution as well as employment and job searches. The defendants are responsible for keeping in regular contact with these monitors. The monitors are more than willing to work with the defendants but they will not tolerate lies, illegitimate excuses or indolence. In those cases, the defendants are brought back before the court by the state attorneys, requesting graduated sanctions to ensure compliance.

Victim vitriol as mentioned in an Aug. 25 Standard-Examiner article, ("State: Ex-dentist a deadbeat dad") is not a referral standard for CNS cases. It is understandable that a custodial parent or guardian of children becomes frustrated or exasperated when the non-custodial parent refuses to honor not only a legal but also a moral obligation to financially support his/her children. We have seen custodial parents work full-time jobs and part-time jobs, work several part-time jobs, rely on the generosity of family/friends or turn to the state for assistance. The non-custodial parents have refused to pay child support even though they are capable of working. It is the job of the CNS section to hold these non-custodial parents responsible and accountable for their actions. We utilize several strategies to accomplish these goals, with the ultimate and usually last resort punishment being prison.

Unfortunately, a fairly common response from persons charged with criminal non-support is to contact their children, minors and adults, claiming their "mothers" or "fathers" are sending them to prison. The purpose of this contact is to get the children to then put pressure on the custodial parent to "forgive the arrears,"which are often in the tens of thousands of dollars, hoping that will lead to dismissal of the criminal charges.

The CNS section has a "no-drop" policy; once criminal charges are filed, we will pursue those criminal charges to a fair and just resolution.

The custodial parents do not want their children to be in pain or feel guilty and that parent often is coerced through guilt to come to court or sign a statement indicating restitution is forgiven in order to keep peace with their children.

We have seen this occur too many times and it is an abuse of parental position and power by the defendants tantamount to witness tampering. The person responsible for the defendant’s predicament is the defendant, the person who refused or failed to pay support for his/her children when he or she had the ability to do so.

We all recognize the tough economic times and high unemployment statistics. Parents are supposed to put their children’s needs first. Parents have an obligation and responsibility to see that their children’s needs are met ... physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. The CNS section at the attorney general’s office is tasked with the duty to secure financial compensation for them. It is a duty we take seriously and handle diligently and compassionately.