Cox & Evans Combine Forces to Target Child Support Offenders

Contact: Rusty Hills or Matt Frendewey, Media Contacts 517-373-8060

Agency: Attorney General

September 13, 2007

            DETROIT - Attorney General Mike Cox today announced a new child support sweep in metro Detroit, named Operation: Back to School '07. The sweep, which lasted three days, is a cooperative effort between Cox's Child Support Division and Sheriff Warren Evan's Felony Friend of the Court Enforcement Unit. The operation is targeting more than a hundred metro-Detroit area residents who are charged with felonies for not paying substantial amounts of child support.

            "We have named this Operation: Back to School '07 because this is the time of year when parents provide their children the necessities to go to school. New clothes, backpacks, and calculators are just some of the expenses that parents incur this time of year," said Cox. "Let this be a reminder that child support is necessary for every child all year long. We are grateful for the cooperation of Sheriff Evans and his commitment to this important work."

            The defendants charged in these cases have legal obligations to provide support for almost 150 children. Their combined arrearage is more than $4 million.

            "The impact on a child whose parent can't afford to provide them with basic necessities can't be measured," said Sheriff Evans. "It takes a toll on their self-esteem, which also effects their education. This stepped-up enforcement period expands on the daily efforts of the Attorney General and my office to hold deadbeat parents accountable."

            Cox's Child Support Division, the first statewide child support enforcement unit in the country, has collected more than $45 million owed in back child support, directly benefiting more than 4,200 children.

            In addition to benefiting children, the Child Support Division also benefits the State. The Attorney General's Child Support Division is on track to recover twice as much money for the State of Michigan in 2007 as the actual cost for the division.

            Among those arrested by sheriff's deputies during Operation: Back to School '07 were:

• Nicholas Kohalisky, 48, Southfield, owed more than $67,000 in back child support,
• Percy Ainsworth, 41, Detroit, owed more than $57,000 in back child support, and;
• Kyle J. Perry, 34, Detroit, owed more than $50,000 in back child support.

            A criminal charge is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. To learn more about the Attorney General's Child Support Division visit www.michigan.gov/ag.

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