Man who owes $200K in child support gets 2 years in jail

FORT WAYNE – A Florida man who said he did not pay more than $200,000 in child support because he doesn’t live in Indiana and because of his religious beliefs has been sentenced to two years in prison.\nJames S. Andrews, 53, also was ordered Monday to pay $218,028 in back child support and to serve a year of probation.\nAndrews, who has been living in Lantana, Fla., the past two years, pleaded guilty in November as part of a deal with prosecutors, who agreed to recommend a prison sentence near the low end of the guidelines because of Andrews’ cooperation. As part of the agreement, Andrews agreed to pay the amount of child support owed by the time he was sentenced.\nAndrews, who is Catholic, wrote in a letter that although the court determined him to be divorced, his “religious and belief system says I’m married.” Andrews had since remarried after seeking an annulment of his previous marriage, according to court documents.\nAndrews was married to a Fort Wayne woman for 17 years and has six children with her.\nHe was court-ordered to pay about $500 a week in child support beginning in June 1999 when the couple separated. The only money his ex-wife had received was a check for $35, an intercepted tax return and one garnishing of his wages, according to prosecutors.\nAndrews was indicted by a federal grand jury in July. He had been working as a full-time substitute teacher in West Palm Beach, Fla.