Man too young for child support claims

PORT ORANGE, Fla., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- A Florida man says the state is trying to force him to pay child support for a child who was born when he was 7 years old.

Rusty Cole, a National Guardsman from Port Orange, Fla., said his tax return was delayed by the state because officials told him he owes support payments for a child born in 1995 -- despite the fact that Cole was born in late 1987, Central Florida News 13 reported Wednesday.

Cole said weeks of phone calls and office visits failed to yield any results.

"They were like, 'Oh, yes, we have it on here that you are the father,' and I was like, 'Ma'am, there's no way,'" Cole said to News 13.

He said an e-mail message to Gov. Charlie Crist finally yielded him an apology from the department of revenue and the promise that his return would be processed.

However, Cole said he will not consider the matter closed until the return is in his hands and he is ensured it will not be a problem again.

"I want this completely off my record," Cole told the television station. "I don't want this ever affecting me later on in life."