By Sharon Coolidge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen vowed Thursday to make deadbeat parents pay up - even if it means throwing them in jail.

Over the last two months, Hamilton County grand jurors indicted 65 parents on felony charges of not paying child support. The 63 men and two women owe more than $1.4 million to 100 children.

As Allen spoke, law enforcers throughout Hamilton County swept through neighborhoods arresting wanted parents.

"This is loathsome, abusive behavior; they are showing utter abandonment," Allen said of the deadbeat parents. "We promise the community we will apprehend them."

Carrie Davis, president of Child Advocacy for Rights and Equity a newly formed group whose aim is to reform the child support payment system, was happy about the indictments, but said she was not impressed.

"Picking up 60-some people doesn't make a dent in the number of kids going without new school shoes. . . . This is an ongoing problem that requires ongoing attention.

"Our children deserve more," she said.

There are about 80,000 child support cases in Hamilton County, according to state statistics. Statewide, about two-thirds of child support is paid, or about $1.2 billion in 2002.

Allen said it was heartbreaking to hear some of the parents, who had been living without support payments to help raise their children, testify before the grand jury.

Those indicted owe from $2,000 to $104,465 each. If convicted, parents could face up to a year in prison.

Parents indicted Thursday had missed at least 18 of their last 24 support payments.

"These are parents who have literally abandoned their children, and ignored court orders," Allen said.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com