When the law is an ass; Texas court insists man pay $65,000 support for a child his ex falsely claimed he fathered 16 years ago – he never knew of the girl’s existence until now
‘Well, ‘Texas law don’t give a damn about the science, y’all’ … so how do you resolve this conundrum?’
It’s not about facts, it’s about due process – DNA test revealed the 16-year-old girl is not a member of the Cornejo family, still they may have to pay her way through life, just because her mother felt her ex should pay back for ‘services rendered’.
Court rules man pay $65,000 of child support to the mother of a teenage girl he’s only met once – DNA says he’s NOT the father
Married father-of-three, Gabriel Cornejo, last year was served by a deputy with the notice that he had another child with an ex
The custom car builder from Cypress, Texas met the 16-year-old and underwent a paternity test – which excluded him from paternity
His ex and the state of Texas is still demanding he pay $65,000 in backdated child support
The woman got a default ruling in 2003 saying her former boyfriend fathered the child she had in 2001
The mother, her lawyer and the court say Cornejo is liable because he did not show up in court to contest her claim at the time
Cornejo insists he never received a subpoena, never met the child, had no idea about his ex’s claims until last year
The litigants return to court in August where Cornejo is hoping to appeal
Gabriel Cornejo said he was alerted that he might have another child last year when a deputy showed up at his door with court papers
A Texas court has ruled that a Houston man a ‘deadbeat dad’ owing $65,000 in delinquent child support payments, despite the scientific proof that the teen girl is not his child.
DNA evidence backs the claims by Gabriel Cornejo that he did not father the 16-year-old his ex says he did. Cornejo says he did not even know of the girl’s existence until a deputy knocked on his door last year – But ‘Texas law don’t give a damn about the science, y’all’.
The Houston court ruled that custom car builder from Cypress, Texas, must pay $65,000 in child support to the mother of a teenage girl he’s only met once. The issue is that Gabriel Cornejo, already has extensive family commitments. He and his wife Esmerelda have three children of their own, while he is also raising his brother’s two kids. Now he has to backstop decades of expenses for a child, galling as he says he only found out his ex claimed he was the father of her 16-year-old girl, last year when a deputy showed up at his door with court papers telling him the state of Texas thinks he has another child.
Unfortunately even after a paternity test proved he wasn’t the father, Cornejo is still being held liable for unpaid child support because a court says he did not contest the paternity suit when his former girlfriend first submitted it in 2003.
Cornejo, originally from Panama, insists he was never notified about his ex’s claims at the time and is hoping to overturn the ruling when the case goes to court next month.
Cornejo was excluded from paternity by DNA evidence
Cornejo appealed to the office of Gov Greg Abbot, who politely passed on intervention
Gabriel Cornejo has been ordered to pay 16 years back order in child support [$65,000], to the mother of a teenage girl who DNA has proven not to be his child. He was not aware of the child’s existence, until last year, and has only met her once
Cornejo and his wife Esmeralda have three children, [photo]. He is also raising two of his brother’s children.
The saga began last year when the dad got a knock on the door from a deputy who turned up with court papers claiming he had a daughter. 
Cornejo, who insists never knew about the girl, set out to meet the now 16-year-old.
The Houston dad, who described the teen as a ‘wonderful girl’ who was ‘very smart’ with a ‘lot going on for herself’, decided to have a DNA test at the urging of his wife Esmeralda Cornejo, and his ex.
But when the results came back, they were negative.
‘I’m not the father,’ he told ABC 13.
While you might expect that to be the end of things, for Cornejo, it was just the beginning.
Mother’s lawyer, Carel Stith, claims Cornejo got a subpoena which he ignored, and some child support was taken from his paycheck long ago which he never fought it.
Cornejo’s lawyer Cheryl Coleman asked how ‘he should have fought back then and he failed to do so?’
His ex is still demanding that he pays what now totals $65,000 for the child, that is not his.
She first went to a Texas court in 2003 claiming Cornejo was the only possible father.
Her lawyer, Carel Stith, claims Cornejo got a subpoena which he ignored, and some child support was taken from his paycheck long ago which he never fought it.
Cornejo claims he never received a subpoena and was not aware about the claim until last year.
But the court has taken his ex’s side and unless he can convince another judge to change the order, he will face a bill of tens of thousands of dollars.
It’s not about facts, it’s about due process: DNA test revealed the 16-year-old girl is not a member of the Cornejo family [photo], still they may have to pay her way through life, just because her mother felt her ex lover should pay back for ‘services rendered’.
‘They say he should have fought back then and he failed to do so,’ his lawyer Cheryl Coleman said. ‘But how can you fight something you don’t know anything about?’
If he fails to pay, he could land in jail.
‘Don’t stick your head in the sand,’ the girl’s mother’s lawyer said. ‘It won’t go away and there can be consequences even if you don’t do anything.’
Cornejo describes himself as the owner of GP Custom Works car shop in Texas, and appears to be a family on his Facebook page, sharing lots of pictures of himself with his kids and wife.
The case is due back in court in August.
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