Statutory rape victim reportedly forced to pay child support

PHOENIX -- A man who slept with a 20-year-old woman when he was 14 -- and didn't learn he was a father until eight years later -- is now being forced to pay child support, the Arizona Republic reports.

According to the Republic, Nick Olivas of Arizona was in high school when he slept with a woman who was six years older than him. Olivas, who said he was confused and going through a rough patch at that time of his life time, said the two went their separate ways after the encounter.

Arizona law says a child younger than 15 cannot consent to sexual relations with an adult under any circumstance. Olivas did not press charges following the encounter, mostly because he said at the time he didn't think it was a crime.

All of it was put behind him, he thought, until two years ago he was served papers from the state demanding he pay child support. That's when he found out he had a 6-year-old daughter, the Republic reports.

"It was a shock," Olivas told the Republic. "I was living my life and enjoying being young. To find yout you have a 6-year-old? It's unexplainable."

Olivas initially ignored the request to pay support, and now owes about $15,000 in back pay. The state has begun garnishing his wages at $380 a month, including a 10 percent interest charged for missed fees.

Arizona policy shows that even though he was raped, Olivas is not exempt from child support unless the parent seeking child support has been found guilty of sexual assault with a minor. But since Olivas never prosecuted, no court case exists.

Olivas told the Republic he wants his daughter to succeed and wants to help pay, but that he doesn't believe he should have to pay back penalties, incurred over a time when he was a child himself. Especially since he didn't know his daughter even existed.

Currently Olivas is trying to fight the penalty costs, but told the Republic he can't afford a lawyer.

He is also trying to meet his daughter.

"I lost my mom at a young age," he told the Republic. "I can't leave (my daughter) out there. She deserves a dad."