2 Who Believed They Fathered Same Boy Win Visitation Rights

Two men who had been led to believe they fathered the son of the same former girlfriend won visitation rights Thursday, at least for now, even though blood tests showed that neither is really the biological father.

Darryl Fletcher and Brandon Ventimeglia will get to see the 2-year-old boy every Wednesday and on alternate weekends while haggling over whether they have any parental rights continues. The boy’s mother, India Scott, 25, had told each man that he was the father when she was pregnant, but she is now fighting their efforts.

“I’m very happy, because I was scared he might be gone,” Ventimeglia said after the brief hearing before Judge George Steeh III. “I want to be in his life.”

After Darryl Scott was born, the men, both 26, helped care for him, each without knowing about the other--Fletcher on weekdays and Ventimeglia on weekends.

They learned about each other when both filed for custody in April after discovering that Scott planned to move to Virginia with her new husband. Each also knew the boy by a different name. They have agreed to call him Buddy.

Scott has agreed to stay in Michigan while another blood test is run.

“It was obviously painful, but everybody’s acting with a great deal of maturity and restraint,” said Fletcher’s lawyer, Karen Russell.

The men are seeking an “equitable parenting” arrangement. Under Michigan law, an equitable parent is recognized by the public, the court and the child as the parent. No genetic link is required.

“The law has not been able to keep up with family changes and mores,” Russell said. “The equitable-parenting doctrine is an inventive way to recognize a bond has taken place without a blood connection.”

Barry Fayne, Scott’s lawyer, said he would fight them.

“How many people from outside of the gene pool should be allowed to become parents?” he said.

Fayne said Scott has yet to say who she thinks the boy’s real father is, and his rights must be considered in any custody arrangement.

She left the courthouse without commenting.