A man who raised a boy for eight years thinking he was his son has managed to get his name struck off the birth certificate after discovering the child was someone else’s.
A judge ordered that the man’s name be removed as the boy’s biological father and replaced with ‘father unknown’ instead.
The man told Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro that he and the boy’s mother had been in a relationship for seven years when he was told she was pregnant and he was the father.
At the time, he was unemployed but he made an effort to find jobs to be able to purchase a place where they could live as a family.
When the child was born, he was registered as his biological father in the birth certificate as he never suspected his partner had lied to him or deceived him in any way.
When the boy was eight, he came across a message on his partner’s cell phone sent by a former colleague who told her: “I don’t know how [the man] is raising a child [who’s] not his and you’re not scared”.
He confronted his partner who insisted she did not know who the father was. She later admitted the father was a neighbour of her parents.
A genetic test later revealed he was not the biological father, sparking court proceedings to ensure he is no longer recognised as the boy’s father.
The biological father told the court that although he had “occasional sex” with the boy’s mother, he was never told the child was his. He also took a genetic test which confirmed he was the biological father.
The judge said the court did not enjoy wide discretion with regard to matters concerning the filiation of children and it could not order the biological father listed as the boy’s father once it did not have a request to this effect.
The court urged the mother to act in the best interests of the child and to do what is necessary for his birth certificate to reflect this truth and for the child to be united with his natural and biological father.
The court also ordered that the boy’s surname should change to the mother’s, following her request.
Graziella Cricchiola appeared for the plaintiff.