There are federal dollars involved that are kicked-back to the states for child support money collected. No state will ever pass such a law: it ain't about the children, it's about the revenue.
Southfield girl's mom seeks nearly $300,000
Former Detroit Lion Bennie Blades turned himself in to authorities Monday to face charges of being a deadbeat dad.
Blades, who played defensive back for nine seasons with the Lions, was charged with failing to pay nearly $300,000 in child support to the mother of a 12-year-old Southfield girl -- one of six children he fathered with six women. He also was charged with child abandonment.
Blades, 37, of Plantation, Fla., turned himself in to the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, said Matt Davis, a spokesman with the Attorney General's Office. He was arraigned in 36th District Court in Detroit.
The Attorney General's Office asked that Blades' bond be set at 10 percent of $2 million or $200,000 in cash, but it was set at $100,000 or 10 percent, meaning that Blades had to come up with $10,000 to be released from jail.
As of Monday evening, he had not posted bond.
In an interview with the Free Press last week, Blades said he wanted to work out a settlement with the girl's mother, but her lawyer refused to talk to him.
In 1999, a judge ordered Blades to pay $860 a week in child support for the girl, but Blades said he thought that order had been modified to reflect his current salary as a substitute teacher with the Broward County school district in Florida.
Blades retired from football in 1998 after suffering a herniated disc. He said he brings home about $180 every two weeks and that the rest of his salary goes to child support and taxes.
"Our bottom line is that we want to get compliance with the child-support order," Davis said. "The best situation is something that will be workable for all parties."