$481,000 child support trial begins

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PLYMOUTH, Mass., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Two former wives of a man who Massachusetts officials say owes $481,000 in child support joined to find him and are eager for his trial to begin, they say.

Stephen W. Cantrell's court appearance this week in Plymouth County Court on six felony counts of failure to pay child support may include a guilty plea resulting in a reduced sentence, said Bridget Norton Middleton, spokeswoman for County District Attorney Timothy Cruz.

Cantrell is facing a maximum sentence of 40 years in jail and a $40,000 fine, the Boston Herald reported Monday.

Ex-wives Cindy Cassidy and Sharon Cantrell worked together to find Cantrell, a 10-year exercise that eventually located him in North Carolina, the newspaper said.

"I'm furious. He says he wants to get out of jail so he can get back to work and start paying his child support, but we can't take him at his word," said Cassidy, adding, "Every time we found something we'd turn it over to the state, but nothing ever happened."

Ann DuFresne, a spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, said Cantrell is one of 23,848 non-custodial parents in the state who are at least a year behind in child support payments. Collectively the group owes $1.6 billion, she said.