Man who answered ad placed by lesbian couple must now fork out

Jeff Davis / AP A Shawnee County District Court judge ruled Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2013, that William Marotta is the father and required to pay child support.

What began with a Craigslist ad from a lesbian couple calling for a sperm donor in rural Topeka, Kansas ended in court on Wednesday with a judge ordering the donor to pay child support.

William Marotta claims to have waived his rights as a parent during the process, but Shawnee County District Judge Mary Mattivi maintained that the parties did not enlist a licensed physician, which nullifies his claim to being a sperm donor.

“In this case, quite simply, the parties failed to perform to statutory requirement of the Kansas Parentage Act in not enlisting a licensed physician at some point in the artificial insemination process,” Mattivi wrote in her decision, according to AP.

The case to have Marotta declared the father was filed by Kansas Department for Children and Families in October 2012. He could now effectively be held responsible for around $6,000 in assistance already provided by the state along with future child support payments.

Marotta’s attorney slammed the judge’s decision and claimed the state was “vilifying” his client.

[AP]