Several Henderson County law enforcement officers worked on Nov. 5 to arrest 10 parents who are accused of failure to pay child support. The police sweep is part of an ongoing operation, which has led to 19 arrests since the start of October. The operation is being conducted with the help of the Child Support Division of the Texas Attorney General’s office. Police departments from Chandler, Log Cabin, Athens, Eustace and Caney City are all participating in the countywide round up.
The targeted individuals were parents that have failed make child support payments, which is a violation that puts the offender in contempt of court. After being briefed at 4:30 a.m., the officers spread out over the county to arrest the violators before they left their homes. The arrested parents could be facing up to six months of jail time. The cash bonds posted to release the offenders from jail will go towards the owed child support.
The Texas Attorney General is pleased with the operation. He states that collecting child support is important for the well-being of young Texans and that police sweeps such as these can help ensure that children and their custodial parents get the resources needed to cover every day expenses. The Attorney General’s office collected over $3.6 billion in child support statewide during the 2013 fiscal year. He encourages any Texas parent that’s behind on child support payments to contact the Child Support Division immediately.
It’s important to remember that both the violating parents and the custodial parents are entitled to seek legal representation in these cases. A parent that’s seeking child support payments from a delinquent ex-spouse should work with an attorney to get see if the delinquency warrants contempt of court. Alternatively, anybody concerned about being behind on payments should also contact an attorney to discuss options before ending up in jail.
Source: kltv.com, “Henderson County sheriff arrests 10 parents for child support violations” Marshall Stephens, Nov. 05, 2013
