Man Arrested in Child-Support Case
Joel Rock Upton, a 38-year-old Oxnard resident described by Ventura County prosecutors as one of the county’s worst deadbeat dads, was arrested this week outside a Ventura courtroom where he had been ordered to appear.
Upton, who owes more than $16,000 in back child-support payments for one daughter, denied charges of violating probation Friday and was remanded to the Ventura County Jail.
Prosecutors say Upton showed up at court Thursday under an assumed name and was arrested. Using the identity of Gary S. Hansen, Upton had evaded authorities for more than three years, they said.
Investigators assigned to the Child Support Division tried to locate Upton on several occasions and were told by relatives that he had died while living out of state, prosecutors said.
But while looking through criminal records, the investigators discovered the alias and a fingerprint comparison confirmed that Hansen was in fact Joel Upton, they said.
In 1993, he was pictured on the district attorney’s “Most Wanted Deadbeat Parents” poster, according to a news release.
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