St. John’s, Antigua : Noel Farrell’s tear-shedding pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears at the St John’s Magistrates’ Court yesterday as Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh ordered him remanded to prison if he failed to pay half the monies owed in child support.
Farrell, of Five Islands, who has been delinquent in payments since last September, racked up a bill of $8,080.
Yesterday, the court’s chief gave him the option of paying half the amount to secure his release but he could not come up with it by the 3 pm deadline.
Hence, he joined the 300 plus inmates at Her Majesty’s Prison while relatives are reportedly scrambling to come up with the cash. Last year Farrell was hauled before the court in September for an outstanding $8,000 and he adhered then to an order to pay half immediately.
The child’s mother also told the court then, she would drop the child maintenance case against Farrell whenever he cleared up the balance of the sum due.
However, he fell back on the payments and the sum increased again.
The court then placed a stop order at the airport to prevent Farrell’s departure. Hence, when he and his girlfriend were about to leave Antigua for Puerto Rico on Monday, Immigration officials stopped him in his tracks.
While he was carted off to St John’s Police Station, his girlfriend became ill and was rushed to hospital. She is not the mother of the child linked to the maintenance case.
Magistrate Walsh lamented the large number of fathers before the court for unpaid child support and warned that anyone with outstanding maintenance dues must find half the total immediately to avoid being sent to jail.
Two other delinquent fathers immediately found themselves behind bars yesterday. One has $38,000 outstanding while another owes $24,000.
