Man Gets Four Years for Failing to Pay Child Support

OKTIBBEHA COUNTY, Miss. — A father who ignored a court order to pay support for his child is now in prison, Attorney General Jim Hood announced.

“This individual apparently thought he was above the law, but he knows differently now,” Attorney General Hood said. “In Mississippi, parents are not allowed to shrug off financial responsibilities for their children, and our office will pursue and prosecute those who attempt it.”

On Friday, August 2, Dennis Kern, 51, of Kosciusko, was sentenced by Oktibbeha Circuit Court Judge Lee Howard to serve four years behind bars and an additional four years of probation for failing to follow judge’s orders issued in 2008. Kern was also ordered to pay $68,215.87 in back child support, the same amount he was ordered to pay five years ago.

In April 2008 court proceedings, Kern was sentenced to ten years in custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with two years to serve and eight suspended. He was also ordered to pay his back child support obligations.

In 2009, the Attorney General’s Office learned that Kern had failed to pay any of the owed child support, although he was reporting to his probation officer in Tennessee. The Attorney General’s Office notified the court, which issued an arrest warrant for Kern on charges of failure to pay support. Kern disappeared and was arrested in Nashville, Tenn. in July of this year. He was returned to Mississippi to face revocation of his original sentence.

Assistant Attorney General Marvin Sanders prosecuted the case which was investigated by Kynda Walker of the Attorney General’s Child Desertion Unit.