Many Men Finding They are Not the Father

Memphis, Tn - Memphian Marcus Matthews plans to release a documentary that shares the stories of men who say they were falsely accused of paternity.

It's called "I Am Not The Father," based on his book, which details the men's experiences. Matthews says he dated a woman years ago, who falsely accused him of fathering her child. She got pregnant, after he says they practiced safe sex.

While he waited for paternity test results, the child's mother tragically died in a car accident. A month later, the results showed he was not the father. Matthews says he hopes opening talks about the issue, help others in similar situations.

"In my case, we were kids, 16 and 17 (years old), so I hope we start talking to our kids about the importance of being honest in our relationships... help our community understand that we can help our children more by helping them identify the fathers," said Matthews.

Other Memphis men spoke with FOX13 about paternity fraud, and the life-changing moment they discovered the child they were told was their biological child, was not their own.

Tarrik Moore, 28, says he dated his high school sweetheart for five years. When she got pregnant, he planned to eventually marry her. Moore started paying hundreds a month in child support, before learning he was not the baby's daddy.

"When the child was four months, I inquired about the paternity, she defied all of that, she said she would never do me like that, and you know, how could I think of such a thing basically," said Moore.

Moore says he questioned her due to "an inkling" the child was not his.

"When he (the child) was about seven months I actually took the test, on my own, without her being present and I found out the child was not mine...a lot of emotions... trust, vengeance, rage," said Moore.

Marque Boyd, 25, says he cared for the child he thought was his, from birth until the child was nearly two-years-old. The child lived with him, since his job provided more flexible hours than the baby's mother. But out of the blue, Boyd says the baby's mother suddenly called him one day, and told him he was not the father. She showed him DNA proof of the biological father the following day.

"When it actually came out, I wasn't relieved, I was hurt more than anything, because the last two years of my life I had been taking care of someone else's child, that I made this connection with," said Boyd. "I may have mentioned to her that my father wasn't in my life, and I made a promise to myself and my mother that if I ever have a child they would never have to wonder where daddy is, they would always know daddy loves them, and that could've been a red flag to her like Ok, 'this is a good one, need to keep him.'"

Both men say they signed the birth certificate as "the father," but managed to get their name removed, through the court process. As for the children, the men say the biological father is part of each child's life now.

Moore and Boyd say they are not in the child's life.

"It was difficult, it was difficult, very disheartening, kinda' thinkin' of it makes me a little sad, yea it was difficult," said Moore.

"It wasn't difficult at all, once I found out it wasn't mine, I just shut everything down," said Boyd.

Both men were in their early 20's when the women became pregnant. They say their brief stint at fatherhood, did motivate them to pursue their individual careers, to help provide for the child at the time.