An Oakland Circuit Court judge has signed a default judgment in a paternity case against gospel recording artist J. Moss, ordering him to pay child support to a Georgia woman.
J. Moss, whose real name is James L. Moss Sr. and lives in West Bloomfield Township , was named in a paternity lawsuit filed in June by Lakisha Hughes, 28, of Douglasville , Ga. , concerning her son, Christion, born March 15. A court-ordered DNA test subsequently determined the 36-year-old Moss is the boy's father with "99.9 percent" accuracy, according to the court file.
"I really don't wish to discuss this — it's a difficult situation involving children, two families and also careers," said Hughes on Thursday.
Moss could not be reached for comment at his home or recording studio, PAJAM Music in Oak Park .
When Moss failed to respond to court filings, Oakland Circuit Judge Cheryl Matthews signed a judgment Monday prepared by the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office requiring Moss to pay $1,028 a month support until the boy turns 18 years old.
Court documents reveal Hughes is unemployed, has a teenage daughter and is divorced. Moss is listed as married and has two other children with his wife. Court filings indicate Moss admitted to Hughes as being the father of her son and even sent her text messages regarding her pregnancy and the child — and "I still have them," she noted in one filing.
Hughes and Moss never lived together, she told the court.
Hughes also said Moss offered to pay abortion expenses but never provided any of the medical care. He never visited the child, but had given her "a total of $450 for Christion," she wrote.
Moss records and produces recordings under PAJAM Music. Hughes estimated in the court filing his gross monthly earnings at $50,000.
Moss is the son of gospel star Bill Moss Sr. and grew up on tours with his father's group, Bill Moss and the Celestials, and a cousin's group, The Clark Sisters. Moss, who grew up in Detroit and attended Michigan State University for two years, is a tenor who plays keyboards and both writes and produces music with his production group PAJAM.
Written by Mike Martindale for The Detroit News www.detnews.com
