A family court judge ruled Wednesday that a Las Vegas man caring for his teenage brother is now legally recognized as the boy’s father by default.
It remains unclear whether 26-year-old Logan Gifford, who accused his mother of sexual abuse and suspects the boy may actually be his biological son, is, in fact, the child’s biological father.
Earlier this year, Logan Gifford requested advanced DNA testing to determine if he or his father, Theodore Gifford, is the biological father of his teenage brother. Previous DNA tests indicated the likelihood of paternity for both is 99.9 percent.
“The DNA test conducted does not have a final determination as to one of the two,” Judge Vincent Ochoa said Wednesday during a hearing, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.
“I can’t make (Theodore) the father if he doesn’t want to participate (in the case),” Ochoa said Wednesday. “I’m going to grant the default and declare Logan Gifford to be the legal father of the child. This is the only solution we have. The DNA test was done and eliminated everyone except for two individuals, and only one of those individuals wants to participate in this case.”
Logan Gifford was still a teenager in 2015 when a judge sentenced his mother, Doreene Gifford, to eight to 20 years in prison and required her to register as a sex offender. Doreene Gifford entered an Alford plea to counts of attempted sexual assault and lewdness with a child under 14. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt but concedes that the prosecution has sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
Logan Gifford claims he was sexually abused by her around the time the now-teenager, who lives with him, would have been conceived.
Doreene Gifford, now paroled, lives in Massachusetts and appeared at Wednesday’s 10-minute hearing via video.
Although she maintained that her ex‑husband, Theodore Gifford, was the boy’s true father, she ultimately said she could not continue with the proceedings emotionally and conceded.
“I never had any doubt that Theodore was the father, but I cannot continue this case, mentally, physically or emotionally,” Doreene Gifford said, becoming emotional. “I feel that it’s best that we just concede this case and stop this madness now.”
The judge previously granted Logan temporary custody of the teen, which Logan said on a GoFundMe page was a “major step in protecting his well-being.”
While the judge also recommended further testing, Logan’s attorney, Timothy Treffinger, argued that it would be prohibitively expensive and unlikely to produce more conclusive results.
Because Theodore Gifford declined to participate in the case, the judge on Wednesday granted Logan legal parentage by default.
On the GoFundMe page, Logan said being his brother’s father was a “haunting possibility,” but he feels the teen deserves to know the truth.
“The court process is tough, and with his cognitive struggles and our complicated family history, I need help to secure his future and give him the life he deserves,” Logan Gifford wrote.
Now, he is relieved to finally close this painful chapter and is focused on moving forward with his life.
“Clearly, we got the answer that we were anticipating,” Logan Gifford told the Las Vegas Review‑Journal. “Finally, there was closure, not only for me, as a male survivor, but also closure for someone who didn’t ask for any of this. This is meaningful to him. I didn’t want this to necessarily be made public, but it took that to get to this point.”
Because of the sensitive nature of the case and his age, the Las Vegas Review‑Journal did not report the teen’s name.
