When parents in Birmingham decide to split, child support payments often become a necessary part of life. The payments are intended to help children live a normal life. The money is often used to provide children with basic necessities Parents who fail to make child support payments may have to face hefty penalties.

One father in another state who owed more than $43,000 in child support got quite a surprise recently. His former girlfriend worked with a bounty hunter to create a plot to lure the man back to his home state to pay up and to face criminal charges.

The bounty hunter contacted the man and told him that a talent scout was interested in using him in an upcoming movie starring Jennifer Aniston. The man paid close to $3,000 to fly from Hawaii to Pennsylvania. Instead of a movie role, however, the man was handcuffed and arrested before he even got out of the airport.

The father has reportedly been out of his child’s life for 19 years. He recently pleaded guilty to willful failure to pay child support. In addition to spending more than 40 days in jail, he will also be on probation for 90 days.

Although this story is an extreme case, it shows what can happen when parents fail to pay child support. While some parents may avoid paying child support as a way to get back at a former spouse, they must remember that a child remains at the center of the dispute. A child is the true victim when a parent fails to make child support payments.

Source: MSNBC, “Jennifer Aniston movie lures deadbeat dad home to face $43K bill, arrest,” Randee Dawn, July 9, 2012