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Attorneys Vic Hill and Brad MacDonald

Terrell Owens could go to jail for failure to pay child support

It seems that hardly a month goes by where former professional football player Terrell Owens does not make the news for something that is not football-related. In fact, in the past six months we have blogged about Owens’ child support and other family law troubles at least six times. Most recently, we blogged about Owens’ successful attempt at a downward modification of his child support obligation.

Now, Owens is again in the news for his alleged failure to pay child support for one of his four children. According to the contempt of court petition filed by the mother in Fulton County, Owens owes $20,000 in child support after allegedly failing to make his $5,000 monthly payments for the months of December, January, February and March.

Last summer, Owens asked the court to reduce his monthly child support to $2,500, citing the NFL lockout for his inability to make support payments. The judge denied that request, and Owens caught up with arrears and made payments through November.

However, according to the petition filed by the mother of his daughter, Owens then stopped making child support payments.

The mother is asking the court to order Owens to catch up on child support, and also to sentence him to jail or to pay a large fine. “We plan to ask the court to send a strong message,” the mother’s attorney told a Georgia newspaper, “given that he has only paid support in the last 10 months after a contempt action has been filed against him.”

Owens recently signed on to play with a team in the Indoor Football League, from which he is expected to earn up to $500,000 this season.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Mom of Terrell Owens’ child says T.O. is $20,000 past due,” Christopher Seward, Mar. 2, 2012