A Las Vegas man who was raped by his mother as a child and suspects he is his brother’s father will now serve as his sibling’s legal guardian, a court ruled.
Logan Gifford, a 26-year-old political operative in Nevada, told a court that he suspects his 16-year-old brother is also his biological son, but DNA tests have been inconclusive.
Earlier this year, Logan filed a paternity case asking a judge to order an advanced DNA test to determine who is his brother’s biological father. But the results showed Logan and his father both shared a 99.9 percent match to his sibling, who is disabled.
‘The DNA test conducted does not have a final determination as to one of the two,’ said Family Court Judge Vincent Ochoa on Wednesday, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
However, the judge added that Gifford is the boy’s father as the two live together – and Gifford’s father Theodore Gifford has refused to participate in the court case.
‘I can’t make [Theodore] the father if he doesn’t want to participate,’ the judge said.
‘I’m going to grant the default and declare Logan Gifford to be the legal father of the child. This is the only solution we have. The DNA test was done and eliminated everyone except for two individuals and only one of those individuals wants to participate in this case.’
Logan says he shared his story publicly in hopes of inspiring male survivors of sexual abuse, and has rebuilt his life to become a political operative in Nevada – including working for Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo.
Logan Gifford, 26, told a court that he suspects his 16-year-old brother is also his biological son, but DNA tests have been inconclusive
Logan’s mother Doreene Gifford was charged with sexual assault of a minor and incest, but she maintained her innocence, and was sentenced to 8-20 years in prison after takin an Alford plea
Gifford’s mother Doreene Gifford was convicted of raping her son and sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison in 2015.
Doreene is now a registered sex offender on parole and living in Massachusetts, Gifford’s attorney Timothy Treffinger said.
She was present in the hearing and said: ‘I never had any doubt that Theodore was the father, but I cannot continue this case, mentally, physically or emotionally.
‘I feel that it’s best that we just concede this case and stop this madness now.’
The attorney told the court that further DNA testing would be pointless as a lab said they ‘didn’t really have any options as far as a more confirmatory test.’
After the hearing, Logan Gifford said he was ready to move on from the case.
‘Clearly, we got the answer that we were anticipating,’ he said. ‘Finally, there was closure, not only for me, as a male survivor, but also closure for someone who didn’t ask for any of this. This is meaningful to him. I didn’t want this to necessarily be made public, but it took that to get to this point.’
Gifford came forward to authorities when he was 16, saying his mother had sexually abused him since he was 10 years old.
Gifford made headlines a decade ago after he came forward with horrific allegations that his mother Doreene Gifford raped him since he was 10, which he fears may mean his brother is actually his biological son (pictured together)
Gifford (pictured aged 10) said he was ready to move on from the case after the ruling
Just 16 at the time he came forward, he came to believe that his younger brother may actually be his biological son conceived around the end period of his years of abuse.
Doreene Gifford was charged with sexual assault of a minor and incest, but she maintained her innocence.
She eventually took an Alford plea on lesser charges of attempted sexual assault, which means she did not admit guilt but conceded that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict her in court.
The incarceration left Gifford in charge of his brother, who the 26-year-old has long said he feels ‘a duty’ towards.
He previously served as his brother’s temporary guardian after his father stopped caring for him.
