Dad who owes $481K in support heads to trial


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Stephen W. Cantrell, 49, faces six felony charges of failure to pay child support.

The state claims Cantrell, who has three sons with two ex-wives, has been dodging support payments totaling $481,000 for 12 years.

On Monday, he entered a plea deal offer of a $10,000 fine and a suspended jail sentence -- which would effectively mean no time. The judge rejected that plea, saying he thinks Cantrell should serve 2 1/2 years and pay $50,000 in fines.

Cindy Cassidy, a Brockton mother of two sons, said she has spent 10 years trying to get her ex-husband to pay his debts.

"I'm happy for my children. It's been very tough on them," Cassidy said.

Cassidy and another ex-wife, and Sharon Cantrell, to whom the man also owes child support, tracked him down in North Carolina.

"He made a bad decision, and he kept making a bad decision for 12 years," Sharon Cantrell said.

Sharon Cantrell's son, Corey, has questions for his father, including "Why?

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$481,000 for 12 years ... that's 40k a year. I would need to declare bankrupt if i had to pay that.

as would most people BUT child care is usually based on income so I'm sure he makes more than us
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12 years ? Isn't a little late now to help the kids ?

Yeah, but the state doesn't care. If they can catch them and get them to pay, they will, regardless of the length of time.

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How does the 2 years help the children? I hate that about the system. Make the father a felon eliminating the job prospects to pay the 50K fine will show him I guess. I think something should happen but a felony on his record. Garnish his paychecks and take his passport and things like that some sort of restriction is better than jail time and starting the revolving door of the system.

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While I agree he should be punished, 2.5 yrs in prison and a felony record will guarantee he won't ever get anything more than just above minimum wage.

That means he won't ever be able to pay back the fines, let alone the back child support. He will end up on welfare.

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