Back in August we wrote a post when well-known basketball player Jimmy King was arrested for failing to pay child support. At the time, the former “Fab Five” star was facing a felony charge, which could have resulted in jail time. However, on during pretrial on Friday, King paid $17,248 in back child support, and the case against him was subsequently dismissed.
When looking at the case that was once against the 38-year-old father, King reportedly owed more than $17,000 for his 17-year-old son. He was arrested from a basketball camp that was being held at a church.
Since his initial arrest, it was argued on his behalf that over the years, King has paid a total of $60,000. In addition, in the past when he was behind on payments, he had paid more than $3,000 in back child support.
The claim was that King had fallen behind on payments, not because he didn’t want to financially provide for his son, but because he was negatively impacted by the downturn in the economy.
In this case, the felony charge could have resulted in King having to spend a maximum of four years behind bars. Fortunately, he was able to pay back what was owed, without having to go through a trial and risk having a felony conviction on his record. However, not all fathers who fall behind on child support are as lucky.
Because of this, if you are a father who is struggling to make child support payments, before waiting until you are thousands behind, contact a family law attorney to see what options may be available to make a modification to your existing child support order.
Source: Dearborn Press & Guide, “Former Fab Fiver Jimmy King pays child support, charges dropped,” Carol Hopkins, Jan. 31, 2012
