September 2014 | 847 P.2d 1273, 252 Kan. 646 (Kan. 1993)
State ex rel. Hermesmann v. Seyer (Kansas 1993)
In an action against a father for reimbursement to the State for support furnished under the aid to families with dependent children program, the fact that the father was under the age of 16 when the child was conceived and born and that the mother may have been guilty of violating K.S.A.1992 Supp. 21-3503, or some other criminal statute, cannot serve to relieve the father of his legal responsibilities towards his child. The issue of consent to sexual activity under the criminal statutes is irrelevant in a civil action to determine paternity and for support of a minor child born of such activity. The State’s interest in requiring minor parents to support their children is superior to the State’s competing interest in protecting juveniles from their improvident acts, even when such acts may include criminal activity on the part of the other parent. In an action by the State against a minor father for reimbursement of funds paid for support of his child, the fault or wrongdoing of the mother at the time of conception, even if criminal, has no bearing on the father’s duty to support such child.
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