Campbell woman jailed for not paying child support

A Campbell woman was sentenced Tuesday (December 22) to immediate incarceration for failing to pay nearly $1150.00 in back child support.According to Schuyler County Attorney Geoffrey Rossi, the woman was found to be in willful violation of a prior order of the Schuyler County Family Court that required her to pay $50.00 per month for the support of her two minor children. The last payment was made in January, according to the Schuyler County Department of Social Services’ support collection unit.Assistant County Attorney Steven Getman represented the support collection unit. Getman, noting that this was not the woman’s first violation, asked the court to imprison her immediately for contempt of court. At the time of court, records showed that the woman owed approximately $1149.00 in back child support.The punishment was imposed by Family Court Judge Dennis Morris. Morris directed the woman to report to the Schuyler County jail immediately (December 22) to begin her sentence. He ordered her released at 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve, with a direction to serve two additional weekends of jail thereafter. The woman was then taken into custody under the order of commitment.”Under New York State law, parents who willfully fail to obey court orders of child support can be sentenced to up to six months for contempt of court,” Rossi said. “If the children are on public assistance, the Department of Social Services has standing to prosecute the case in Family Court.”The woman’s name was not released to protect the privacy of her children and family.