Father of 23 upset with Facebook post
Posted: Jan 24, 2011 6:54 PM EST Updated: Jan 24, 2011 7:41 PM EST
By Tyana Williams - bio | email
THIBODAUX, LA (WAFB) - He's known as the man with all the children - 23, to be exact. But his name really started circling around Thibodaux after he went to court to try to get custody of his three-year-old.
41-year-old Larry Luther admits he's lived a fast life. He had his first child at 17.
"Two 3-year-olds, two 9-year-olds, one 10-year-old. All the rest are in teens. I have four high school graduates, three in college," said Luther. He says as a child, there was no love in his home, so he went out and found love.
But it's one of the three-year-olds that's made Luther's name known.
Luther says he went to court to get custody of his son. He says the child's mother is facing child cruelty charges, but because Luther's record isn't spotless, the state took the child and now wants child support. That's after, Luther says, he was told to take parenting classes so he could get custody of the boy.
What he says makes him even more upset is what the officer at that hearing reportedly posted on Facebook: a bouncer with 23 kids and too much time on his hands just left the court. Reportedly, the officer says he never named any names.
"He made comment he didn't mention Larry's name. But before Larry even knew about it people were calling him. So obviously everybody knew who it was," said Melissa Billizon, who has an 11-year-old with Luther. "I didn't think that was coming from somebody who's supposed to be a professional."
Luther says the officer told him to get another job and even gave him applications to four fast-food restaurants: McDonald's, Popeye's, Subway and Wendy's.
Luther says he supports his children on one job, as a bouncer at a nightclub in Thibodaux. He says the bouncing made him honest. "It paid enough for me to stop doing illegal stuff." He says he also owns rental property.
"I get money from Larry every month," said Billizon.
His point, Luther says his business should not have been posted on Facebook for everyone to see.
Luther says he goes back before the child support officer in April, for a review. He says the officer wants him to fill out ten applications - four of them must be at fast food restaurants.
9 News reached out to the hearing officer to ask about that Facebook message. Our calls have not yet been returned.
http://www.wafb.com/Global/story.asp?S=13899723
