Man ruled father, not just sperm donor

A Seattle man who had two children with his girlfriend through in vitro fertilization is ruled legally their father and not just a sperm donor.

The ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court means that Michael Kepl must resume paying child support for the two boys, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer said Friday. He had stopped paying support in January 2002, right after his wife found out about his secret family.

Justices unanimously threw out a 2004 Court of Appeals' decision that let Kepl off the hook because he hadn't agreed to be the children's legal father before his girlfriend, Teresa Brock, got pregnant.

"The justice system did come to the right decision," said Brock, who lives in Puyallup with the boys, now 3 and 6. "Good, bad or indifferent, he is their father."

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