Former NC standout fai...

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Former NC standout fails to pay child support, sent to prison

The Indiana Pacers drafted Kenny Williams in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft.

By WNCN Staff - August 20, 2013

RALEIGH, N.C. -

A former professional basketball player who earned $750,000 per year was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in prison after he failed to pay child support.

Kenneth "Kenny" Ray Williams, 44, of Elizabeth City, was named in an indictment filed on July 6, 2000, charging him with willful failure to pay child support. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced Williams to nine months in prison, followed by one-year probation.

Williams was also ordered to pay $661,277 in restitution.

Williams played basketball at Northeastern High School in Elizabeth City before transferring to Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia prior to his junior year. His senior year, Williams was named state player of the year for North Carolina in 1988.

Although he was recruited to play at UNC, Williams did not attend because he failed to meet the minimum academic standards of the university.

The Indiana Pacers drafted Williams in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft. By his fourth season with the Pacers, Williams was earning $750,000 per year.

Williams was first ordered to pay $2,500 per month in child support; in 1995 the support award was amended to include his third child and he was ordered to pay $3,750 per month.

An investigation found that despite earning between $90,000 and $180,000 per year between 1995 and December 2000, Williams failed to pay the child support.

"While he played basketball, drove fancy cars and lived overseas, his former wife and three children were receiving Welfare and Aid to Families with Dependent Children benefits," a press release from the Department of Justice says.

http://www.wncn.com/story/23200468/former-pro-basketball-player-fails-to-pay-child-support-sent-to-prison