New Jersey Family Law

Sperm Theft

A woman accused of using her lover's sperm to impregnate herself without his knowledge can be held liable for the father's emotional pain, an Illinois Court has ruled. The ruling reinstates part of a lawsuit against Sharon Irons, a doctor, by her former lover, another doctor, Richard O. Phillips, who accused her of a "calculated, profound personal betrayal" after an affair they had 6 years ago. Phillips alleges that he and Irons never had intercourse during their 4 month affair, although they did have oral sex 3 times. He contends that Irons, without his knowledge, kept his semen and used it to impregnate herself. The relationship ended when he learned she had lied to him about being recently divorced and was, in fact, still married to a third doctor. Nearly 2 years later, she hit him with a paternity suit. DNA tests showed Phillips was indeed the father and he was ordered to pay child support. He then sued her, claiming her actions robbed him of sleep and caused him to have trouble eating. CBS 2 Chicago WBBM-TV, February 25, 2005

New Jersey Divorce : Paternity

Even though Steve Barreras adamantly denied fathering the daughter his ex-wife, Viola Trevino, claimed was born to her in December 1999, and even pointed out he had a vasectomy in 1998, the court in Albuquerque, N.M., ordered him to pay child support.  The order, based on apparent DNA matches, required the state Human Services Department to garnish Barreras' paycheck, which they did, compelling him to pay a total $20,000. But Trevino's elaborate ruse, which involved a forged Social Security number and birth and baptismal certificates, as well as fake DNA evidence, ended when the judge ordered her to produce the child. Trevino approached a 2-year-old girl and her grandmother on the street, promised them a trip to see Santa Claus and $50, and after treating them to hamburgers, left the grandmother in the car and took the girl into court, alleging she was her daughter. Only when the grandmother followed her into court did Trevino admit the little girl was not hers. State District Judge Linda Vanzi concluded the child allegedly fathered by Barreras did not exist. New Jersey Lawyer Daily Briefing, December 16, 2004.