Dad's not Alfie
A BOY of 14 was the REAL father of the baby that 13-year-old Alfie Patten thought was his, it emerged yesterday.
Schoolboy Alfie believed he had become Britain’s youngest dad after 15-year-old girlfriend Chantelle Stedman gave birth to daughter Maisie in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
But DNA tests proved teenager Tyler Barker is the father.
Little Alfie Patten proudly told the world he would care for his newborn girl, but was left “extremely distressed” when he learned she WASN'T his.
The schoolboy, who was just 12 at the time tiny Maisie was conceived, had vowed to “be good” and bring up the child.
Father ... teen Tyler Barker
But yesterday DNA results revealed in London’s High Court proved that elfin-faced Alfie did not father the girl by Chantelle.
Instead, Maisie is the daughter of fellow schoolboy Tyler, who was 14 when Chantelle fell pregnant.
It is said that Tyler is now intending to care for the three-month-old baby in the future.
The Sun pictured 4ft Alfie with Maisie and Chantelle in February. The schoolboy believed he’d become Britain’s youngest dad, saying: “When my mum found out I thought I’d be in trouble.
Click here for more pics of Alfie,
Chantelle and baby Maisie...
“We wanted to have the baby but were worried how people would react. I didn’t know what it was like to be a dad. I will be good though and care for it.
Cheeky
“I thought it would be good to have a baby — I didn’t think about how we’d afford it. I don’t really get pocket money. My dad sometimes gives me £10.”
Alfie, who pledged to leave school as soon as possible to get a job, was convinced he was Maisie’s dad as Chantelle had told him she was a virgin.
The children’s parents pledged that they would do all they could to help the youngsters bring up baby Maisie.
Caring ... Alfie with the baby he thought was his
But within days of our story Tyler came forward, claiming he and at least five other lads had slept with Chantelle.
He claimed he had regularly stayed at her home, sleeping in her bedroom with the knowledge of Chantelle’s mum.
Five more boys in Eastbourne, East Sussex, also said that they had slept with the schoolgirl.
Alfie refused to believe their claims, at one stage donning a hoodie bearing the cheeky slogan “I’m the Daddy!”
He insisted: “I’m the only boyfriend Chantelle’s had and we’ve been together two years. I must be the dad.”
Soon after spiky-haired Tyler and the other boys made their claims of sleeping with Chantelle, social services stepped in to take control.
DNA testing was carried out on Alfie, Tyler and the other youngsters who made claims.
And the results were revealed after East Sussex County Council failed in a bid to ban reports of the case.
A judgment made last month by Mrs Justice Eleanor King told of Chantelle’s tears at being branded a “slut”.
Crying
The teenager said she “was crying a lot every day” and feared that the insults would “go on forever”.
Meanwhile, Alfie was “extremely distressed” when he was told he was not the baby’s father in March, the judgment revealed.
Our story about Alfie’s claim that he had fathered baby Maisie sparked shockwaves around the world.
Children’s Secretary Ed Balls said his reaction on seeing snaps of Alfie cradling Maisie as his daughter was: “It’s not right, this looks so terrible.”
Tory leader David Cameron said the case raised “worrying” questions about modern Britain.
PM Gordon Brown said he too was worried by the story and that the Government did all it could to prevent teenage pregnancies.
Tyler, who is now 15 and lives on the same estate as Chantelle, claimed he slept with her thinking she would take the morning-after pill. He said: “I thought she’d take care of it.”
Speaking before the DNA test, he admitted: “I slept with Chantelle about nine months ago and I’m really worried I could be the father. I hope it’s not me.
“All my mates have been teasing me about it — but this isn’t funny, it’s serious. Having sex with her was the worst mistake I’ve ever made in my life. I wish I’d never met her.
“To be honest I didn’t really fancy her. Now I’m terrified I could be the daddy.”
Speaking in February, Tyler’s dad Chris Ireland said: “I’d no idea Tyler was at Chantelle’s house because he was meant to be with a mate.
“But when it came out that she was pregnant he came to see me and confessed that he had slept with her.
“We were very worried. I even had a proper chat with him about his responsibilities and about what he’d have to do if he was the dad.”
Chris, 44, said Chantelle seduced his son while he was drunk — and told how Tyler WEPT when he realised he could have fathered the tot.
He said: “He’s devastated and has broken down in tears at the thought.
“Far from bragging about it, he thinks his life’s been ruined by this.” Despite the boys’ claims that they had bedded Chantelle, she continued to insist that Alfie was the dad.
Her mum Penny, 38, backed her and said her daughter was a virgin before she met Alfie.
The Sun, May 19, 2009, http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article2435283.ece