Court rules Houston man must pay $65k in child support for kid that's not his

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A Texas court has ruled that a Houston man who is not the father must pay $65,000 in child support to the mother of a teenage girl he's only met once.

Gabriel Cornejo, of Cypress, Texas, a father-of-three who is also raising two of his brother's children, says he only found out his ex claimed he was the father of her 16-year-old girl, last year.

But even after a paternity test proved he wasn't the father, Cornejo is still being held liable for unpaid child support because a court says he did not contest the paternity suit when his former girlfriend first submitted it in 2003.

Cornejo, originally from Panama, insists he was never notified about his ex's claims at the time and is hoping to overturn the ruling when the case goes to court next month.

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'They say he should have fought back then and he failed to do so,' his lawyer Cheryl Coleman said. 'But how can you fight something you don't know anything about?'

If he fails to pay, he could land in jail.

'Don't stick your head in the sand,' the girl's mother's lawyer said. 'It won't go away and there can be consequences even if you don't do anything.'

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