Mercer County Arrests State-High 111 During Child Support Sweep

A three-day Child Support Sweep resulted in the arrests of 118 people who had a total of 166 outstanding warrants for unpaid child support, Mercer County Sheriff  Jack Kemler announced Monday afternoon.

In nearly every instance, those caught had evaded all efforts to pay their court-ordered financial obligations. Of the 118 people, 109 were men and nine were women.

The sweep commenced at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday, July 15, and lasted through late Thursday evening, July 17. It was part of a 21-county operation conducted throughout all of New Jersey. 

The Mercer County sweep included detectives and uniformed Sheriff Officer’s, in addition to members of the Mercer Vicinage Probation Division, NJ State Parole Board, Trenton Police, NJ State Police, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.

There were 111 total arrests in Mercer County, the most of any county in the state. Statewide, a total of 760 warrants were served. 

“An exceptional team of Mercer County Sheriff’s Officers worked diligently with every level of law enforcement on this collaborative effort,” Kemler said. “Many of those caught in the sweep owed back child support amounts in the thousands of dollars and were chronic violators."

Kemler advises parents in Mercer County who are unreasonably behind on their child support to clear up any long-overdue payments.

For more information to resolve a child support warrant, delinquent parents should contact Det. Stephen Mellick at the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office at 609-989-6798.