Failure to Pay Child Support Lands Father of 23 in Jail

A man who is being called the “biggest deadbeat dad in America” was sentenced to 23-48 months in jail for failure to pay child support to the mother of two of his 23 children.

According to court records, the Michigan man was in debt for more than half a million dollars owed in back child support. Howard Veal, 44, has admitted to fathering 23 children by 14 different women. He is currently unemployed, and had been ordered to pay 10 to 100 percent of the $63,000 in back child support owed to Sherri Black, the mother of two of his children, to avoid charges. He told the court he was unable to pay because he could not find a job.

However, Kent County Judge Dennis Leiber called Veal “the poster child for irresponsibility” and sentenced him to more jail time than Michigan sentencing guidelines provided for, saying that Veal is “an insult to every responsible father who sacrifices to provide for their children.”

Veal reportedly has an additional 14 child support cases pending against him. In the past seven years, he has paid Black only $90 in child support for their two children, who are 11 and 16 years old.