US man with 23 kids by 14 women jailed for not paying child support

London, Sept 30 (ANI): A man in the US, who fathered 23 children by 14 women, has been jailed for not paying child support.

Howard Veal, 44, who owes an astonishing 533,000 dollars in child support payments, has been sentenced to four-years imprisonment.

Michigan judge Denis Lieber branded Veal a "poster child for irresponsibility", who was an "insult to every responsible father who sacrifices to provide for his children".

"Animals procreate, human beings are supposed to nurture their children," the Daily Mail quoted Judge Lieber as saying.

"When you create a human being, I think you have a fundamental responsibility to provide for that child with necessities like food, clothing and shelter," he stated.

The judge was so appalled that he far exceeded the sentencing guidelines, which called for Veal, from Muskegon, Michigan, to receive no more than six months in the county jail.

Veal has been revealed to have barely worked over the years, choosing instead to live off benefits.

His jailing followed a guilty plea he made in July to owing Sherri Black, the mother of two of his children, more than 60,000 dollars in child support.

In seven years, Veal had paid just 87.75 dollars for the two children, now aged 16 and 11.

He told the court he was contributing money from his unemployment benefit and had never refused to pay.

However, Mitchell Wood, Michigan's assistant attorney general, had recommended that Veal's behaviour justified a jail sentence because he was unlikely ever to make substantial inroads into what he owes, especially as there remain 14 outstanding cases against him.

In Britain, parents who refuse to pay can be jailed for up to six weeks, although they can get out as soon as they hand over the money. (ANI)