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State chasing more deadbeat parents

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BY MARK DOUGLAS

NEWS CHANNEL 8

Published: January 17, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - David Earley is a family man. He lives on an acre-size lot with his wife, two young daughters, a dog and a horse.

The girls attend school. His wife runs a hair salon, and Earley, who lays tile for a living, says he's trying to find work.

But one thing about Earley, 42, sets him apart from other dads in the neighborhood. He's a fugitive hiding in plain sight, wanted by the law since 2007 on felony charges of failure to pay child support. He owes his children from a previous marriage nearly $165,000.

A list of Florida's deadbeat parents, administered by the state Department of Revenue, is the best measure of the growing problem that Earley represents: The number of cases has increased more than 100,000 during the past five years to 792,000.

Those cases involve an estimated 1 million children, more than one-fourth of Florida's under-18 population of 3.85 million.

A poor economy is making it worse.

About half of the parents on the state's list keep up with their obligations. Nearly 40 percent of those who owe back-support didn't make a single payment in 2008.

Earley's ex-wife, Sharon, 44, has been after him to pay up for 19 years. She has been in court as many as 30 times. She has never been able to take her children on a vacation.

Meantime, her ex-husband moves freely. Authorities tell her his arrest is a low priority.

"If not for the help of my family, we would have been in the street a long time ago, homeless," Sharon Earley said.

Her eldest daughter, Melissa, 21, still lives with her mom and three siblings, one of whom is a minor.

"It's hard watching her cry because of how much debt she's in," Melissa said. "And it makes me upset."

Debt rising

Earley owes his ex-wife $164,867, a debt that grows faster than some retirement accounts - $314 every week, according to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court records.

Earley's court-ordered child support was supposed to help pay for food, shelter and basic needs for his four children. It's money Early has told judges he doesn't have or shouldn't owe. They stopped believing him long ago.

The courts have found Earley in contempt seven times. He has admitted to violating his probation by failing to pay support twice since 2007. And now he is wanted on new felony charges of violating probation - by failing to report, lying about his address and, again, not paying child support, authorities say.

The charges could land him in prison for up to five years, but someone has to catch him first.

A News Channel 8 reporter tracked him down Dec. 30 as he sipped coffee in front of his wife's salon, Shear Attitude, in a commercial strip center along U.S. 19 in New Port Richey.

Earley said it's no fun living as husband, father and fugitive from justice.

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy," he said. "It's absolutely crazy."

He said he doesn't think he has gotten a fair shake over the years. His wife had better attorneys during divorce and child support proceedings, he said, and he faults authorities for adding to his troubles.

"The state doesn't want to allow me to make money."

The state suspended Earley's Florida driver's license five years ago as a sanction for failure to pay child support.

"I've tried to say, 'Your honor, I need a permit to go back and forth to work. At least a work permit.' How am I supposed to live?"

The sluggish economy only adds to his trouble finding work laying tile, he said.

The sanctions haven't kept him off the road.

A News Channel 8 reporter watched Earley driving a white box truck along U.S. 19 and in around New Port Richey on Dec. 23, a week before approaching him as he walked toward the same truck at the hair salon.

A reporter notified the Pasco County Sheriff's Office that Earley was at the salon. By the time two deputies arrived, Earley was gone. Before leaving, he told a reporter he knows he can go to prison if the law ever catches up to him.

"I'm very aware of that. It scares me to death. It really does," he said, before locking himself inside the salon.

$1.38 Billion Operation

Sharon Earley said her relationship with David Earley wasn't always court orders and hard times.

"He's very charming, very convincing, and I thought we'd be married forever," she said.

After having three children, divorcing and struggling over child support, she said, the couple reconciled and had another child.

The reunion didn't last, and her legal battle for child support was on again, with the help of her brother, a former prosecutor.

"We've been back and forth to court, I don't know, 20, 30 times," she said.

Earley is not on the Department of Revenue's list of deadbeat parents. Only the poorest of families rely upon intervention by the department, usually people on Medicaid or receiving food stamps or temporary cash assistance.

Any parent can ask the agency to get involved, but enforcement carries little muscle; it takes time for state investigators with growing caseloads to prove income or find parents.

Most of those who aren't on some form of state assistance turn to the courts, and many people hire private lawyers.

State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, said he advocates jail or community service for parents who aren't willing to pay. "If I had it my way, they'd all be wearing a T-shirt or jumpsuit that says 'deadbeat dad' while they're performing those community services."

Family law attorney Margot Pequignot noted that parents who fail to come up with court-ordered child support can go to jail, so they need to alert someone if they lose their jobs.

"You have to take appropriate steps. You can't just expect it's going to fix itself," said Pequignot, whose clients on both sides of the issue are suffering because of the poor economy.

Hard times or not, judges don't seem to take it easier on parents who fall behind. The reason, she said: "They're looking at a kid that doesn't' get any support money."

That adds to the burden on everyone as children lose cash payments or health insurance and their custodial parents turn to food stamps and Medicaid, Pequignot said.

Reporter Mark Douglas can be reached at 727-536-9603.

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