ANCPR REQUESTS FEDERAL GRAND JURY PROBE

OF SANTA BARBARA DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IN CHILD SUPPORT CASE

11/16/98 12:45 PM

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On Friday, November 13, 1998, the Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents’ Rights sent a letter to the Health and Human Services Inspector General requesting a Federal Grand Jury probe of the Santa Barbara, California DA’s office. After KCBS TV - Los Angeles, a local news station, aired an investigative report, it became clear that the Santa Barbara District Attorney Office of Child Support Collection is out of control.

"Why has the Santa Barbara District Attorney spent over 7 years and millions of dollars pursuing the case of Dr. William Porter? He has left the country and DA Pat McKinley along with criminal investigator Laura Cleaves have been following him, even to countries that will not extradite in child support non-compliance cases," noted John Smith, a research analyst with ANCPR. Records show Dr. Porter owes $1.5M in back child and spousal support - that comes to $18,000/mo. Given the fact that Dr. Porter has not been able to establish a practice and has been traced to living in at least 7 different countries, sometimes moving back to one of those same countries, it is unlikely that he has much money left. Even Ms. Cleaves believes they will never recover the money - yet they continue to pursue him. "This is clearly a case of malicious prosecution and a waste of taxpayers’ money," Smith said. "Have they traveled to these countries? If so, it’s clear they’re turning official business into personal junkets."

KCBS’s investigative report created more questions than answers. The impression was given that Mrs. Porter was homeless, but it ended noting she had moved to northern California and has recently graduated from law school. They mentioned at the height of his career, Dr. Porter was making $35,000/mo - they did not mention any debts he had, how long he had been making this money and what his total net worth was. "This is typical of the shoddy reporting we’ve come to expect from the news media," added Smith. "Does $18,000/mo sound like a typical household budget for a mother and with 4 children?," asked Lowell Jaks, President of ANCPR. Why didn’t they spend more time analyzing the doctor’s finances and question the large child support award? One of the sons, Scott Porter, said "the hardest thing is not having someone to go to when you need advice." He talked to his friends’ fathers, but that "wasn’t the same." Money was never mentioned by the children, only the mother and reporter, Kyra Philips.

ANCPR believes child support only serves to force the noncustodial parent out of the child’s life, causing irreparable, life-long harm. Shared parenting, where each parent spend equal time raising and housing their children, is the answer.

 

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