St. Clair County father charged for owing over $30K in child support

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A father is behind bars in Macomb County after racking up over $30,000 in past-due child support.

Adam Walsh of Algonac, a city in St. Clair County, has been arraigned on two counts of failing to pay child support, which is a four-year felony.

"If you’ve neglected your duty and obligation for all this time, how do you think that child is going to grow up?" said Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido. "If it got to $30,000, why weren’t we notified earlier as to what the problem or issue was? If there was an issue."

Walsh has failed to pay child support for his two children. Lucido said this case has been building for about a decade.

On October 26, 2007, Walsh was ordered by a Macomb County Circuit Court judge to pay $407.00 per month in child support for his minor child. After many modifications, he was ordered to pay $186.00 per month. He allegedly owes more than $10,000 in back child support for this minor child.

Walsh has had 12 show cause hearings and five bench warrants issued in the first case.

On Monday, October 21, 2013, Walsh was ordered by the same judge to pay $418.00 per month in child support for another minor child. It was later modified to $358.00 per month. He allegedly owes more than $20,000 in back child support for this minor child.

Walsh has had six show cause hearings and one bench warrant issued in the second case.

Adam Walsh

In Michigan, once someone owes more than $5,000, it's a felony.

"In this case here, the mother had the custody of the child and the father had a support order established. But the father neglected his duties to pay," the prosecutor said.

Lucido's office reached out to Walsh multiple times throughout the years, and he's been hiding in plain sight.

Walsh appeared on Fox 2 in 2019 to talk about a comedy event.

But the law finally caught up with him.

"The child's still gotta eat, or children. They gotta be clothed, they have to have a roof over their head," Lucido said.

Walsh is currently in jail. He was arraigned on August 16 in the 41B District Court in Clinton Township.

A Judge gave Walsh a bond of $2,656.00 for the first case and a bond of $5,164.00 for the subsequent case.

According to Lucido, if you find yourself in this situation, there are steps you can take to avoid jail time.

"Pick up the phone. We have it on our website here in the Macomb County Prosecutors Office," he said. "I made it a point that if our children are supposed to be our future, don’t we owe them at least to have their childhood, so they have a better future for us?"

Lucido advises reaching out to the prosecutor's office if someone ordered to pay child support finds themselves in a difficult situation, especially if they've experienced a job loss or are dealing with a health issue.

Additionally, should the payments exert excessive financial pressure, the prosecutor's office has the capability to amend those as well.

"If the support order is too much for you to pay, we can go and review it," Lucido said. "Every few years we can review this."