Two Michigan men face felony charges after one allegedly asked the other to impersonate him during a court-ordered paternity test that would determine the father of a 2-year-old girl.
According to WXYZ, authorities say Mark McCracken asked Derek Harrison to stand in for him during a DNA test appointment that was supposed to determine whether McCracken was the biological father of 2-year-old Taliah, the daughter of Icess Hardin.
Hardin told the outlet that she was involved in an on-and-off relationship with 34-year-old McCracken, who is married.
When Hardin gave birth to her daughter, she said McCracken tried to distance himself from her and the baby, even though the pair shares an 8-year-old son.
“He just said he didn’t want his wife to know about her and that he didn’t want anything to do with her. He’s married now — he wasn’t married when he got me pregnant,” Hardin said.
McCracken was ordered to take a paternity test, but in an attempt to cheat the examination, he recruited 36-year-old Harrison to go to his appointment on Sept. 12, Detroit Free Press reported.
Harrison underwent the DNA cheek swab, and the test came back negative, indicating that McCracken was not the father.
@the_metro_section Man ssnds a imposter to take a DNA test to hide child from wife
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However, what both men didn’t know was that the office where the test is conducted has video recordings revealing who shows up for the exams. There’s even a sign that notifies visitors that they’re being recorded.
“It says right there you’re being recorded in the prosecutor’s office. We take a picture to validate what we are doing,” Macomb Prosecutor Pete Lucido said, per WJBK.
When Hardin was summoned to review the test results, she challenged the findings. The county sent Hardin a photo of the man who was tested, and Hardin verified that the person was not McCracken.
She said she suspected that McCracken would try something to sidestep his custodial duties of Taliah, but didn’t think he’d take it this far.
“He got caught because I went back up there — I knew the DNA result was wrong,” Hardin said. “It was crazy — I already suspected he was up to something sneaky, but I never thought he’d go that far.”
After reviewing the photo, Hardin said she recognized Harrison as one of McCracken’s work associates.
Lucido stated that he had never prosecuted a case where someone tried to fudge a paternity test by sending a stand-in. He believes McCracken may have been trying to avoid paying for child support.
“The allegations in this matter are truly outrageous,” Lucido said. “As many know, Macomb County takes matters of child support extremely seriously, and this case will receive the full attention it warrants.”
Both McCracken and Harrison were charged with tampering with evidence. Due to their prior criminal histories, they could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
