A man who was raped by his mother as a child and suspects he is his brother’s father will now be his sibling’s legal guardian, a court ruled.
Logan Gifford, a 26-year-old from Las Vegas, told a judge that he suspects his 16-year-old sibling is his biological son but DNA tests have been inconclusive.
His mother, Doreene Gifford, was convicted of raping him and sentenced to eight to 20 years in prison in 2015. Logan has since rebuilt his life to become a political operative in Nevada – including working for Governor Joe Lombardo.
Earlier this year, he 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, Theodore Gifford, both shared a 99.9 percent match to his sibling, who is disabled.
On Wednesday, Family Court Judge Vincent Ochoa, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said: ‘The DNA test conducted does not have a final determination as to one of the two.’
However, the judge added that Logan is the boy’s father as the two live together – and Theodore has refused to take part in the court case.
‘I can’t make [Theodore] the father if he doesn’t want to participate,’ the judge said.
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 eight to 20 years in prison after taking an Alford plea
‘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.’
Doreene is now a registered sex offender on parole and living in Massachusetts, Logan’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 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.’
He said he has shared his story publicly in hopes of inspiring male survivors of sexual abuse.
Gifford came forward to authorities when he was 16, saying his mother had sexually abused him since he was ten years old.
Logan made headlines a decade ago after he came forward with horrific allegations that his mother raped him since he was ten, which he fears may mean his brother is actually his biological son (pictured together)
Logan (pictured aged ten) 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 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 Logan 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.
