Should a rape victim be forced to pay back child support for a daughter he didn't even know he had?
ARIZONA (WITI) -- He was served with papers demanding child support -- and that's how he found out he has a daughter, now six years old. He became a father at the age of 14. Nick Olivas is a victim of statutory rape, so should he be forced to pay child support, for a child he didn't even know he had?
AZCentral.com reports Nick Olivas had sex with a 20-year-old woman when he was 14 years old.
AZCentral reports state law says that a child under the age of 15 cannot provide consent with an adult under any circumstance.
That's what makes Olivas a victim of rape.
However, Olivas didn't press charges. He says at the time, he didn't even realize it was something he should consider.
Now, Olivas has been served with papers -- demanding child support for his daughter, who is now six years old.
AZCentral reports Olivas panicked -- ignoring the legal documents -- and never getting the required paternity test, but the state tracked him down.
He now owes $15,000 in back child support and medical bills going back to the child's birth -- plus 10 percent interest. His wages are being garnished.
AZCentral says Olivas wants to be in his daughter's life, and is willing to pay child support going forward -- but he says he doesn't feel it's right for the state to charge him for the time when he was still a child himself -- when he didn't even know his daughter existed.
In Arizona, AZCentral says the department that oversees child support enforcement has a policy not to exempt situations like Olivas' from child support responsibilities unless the parent seeking the child support has been charged with a crime.
CLICK HERE for much more on this story via AZCentral.com.