Opinion by
This is an appeal from a lower court order requiring the appellant to pay wеekly support for Judith Lonesome’s two children, Lavance and Latía. Appellant
Judith Lonesome initiated proceedings in this case by filing a petition for support of her two children, Lаvance, born May 30, 1970, and Latia, born October 26, 1971, naming appellant as respondent. Appellant denied paternity of the children and requested a civil hearing to determinе the matter. At the hearing, petitioner testified that she and Lavance Johnson had been living together most of the time from around September 1969, until January 1973. She also testified that she had had sexual contact with other men in early August 1969, and in early December 1970. Appellant testified that he did not think he was the father of the children because Ms. Lonesome had beеn seeing men other than himself about the time the children were conceived. Howevеr, he admitted that he had lived with her most of the time from 1969 until 1973 and had taken on financial responsibilities in helping to maintain the household, as well as paying hospital bills. The lower court judgе expressly found Judith Lonesome the more credible of the two witnesses. He decided thе paternity issue in favor of the petitioner and ordered $8.00 a week support for еach child.
Appellant maintains that since the petitioner admitted contact with men other than appellant in August 1969 and December 1970, it is impossible for her to know who would be the father of the children. The rule upon which appellant relies is one of long standing in Pеnnsylvania and has been reiterated time and again in fornication and bastardy proсeedings: the admission of other connections around the time when the children are сonceived destroys the mother’s competency as a
Although these venerable rules as stated appear to admit of no exceрtions, we will consider them as more flexible guides in connection with the present casе. The rules were designed for fornication and bastardy prosecutions which are criminal, whereas in the instant case the appellant elected to proceed civilly. “Where a defendant chooses a civil determination, he will be deemed to have fully waived his jury trial rights and all other protections ancillary to criminal proceеdings including the right to have guilt proven ‘beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” Commonwealth v. Jacobs, 220 Pa. Superior Ct. 31, 38,
The facts elicited at the hearing strongly support the lower court’s finding. The testimony of the petitioner placed the time of conception most prоbably in September, and she denied contact with anyone but appellant at that timе. Her testimony is disputed on the basis of medical theory espoused by the court in 1948 which would suggеst that conception of any child could occur any time within a 3y2 month range, and cоuld not be even approximately dated regardless of
Further evidence supports the lower court’s determinаtion of paternity. The hearing judge noted a clear physical resemblance bеtween the two children and the appellant. Both parties testified to living together as a family prior and subsequent to the birth of both children. The appellant proclaimed young Lavance as his son in front of petitioner’s family. In addition appellant willingly supported the entire group and paid for Judith Lonesome’s hospital bills. We feel that this evidence is more than sufficient to meet the civil standard of proof required to find paternity and enter an order for support in this case.
Order affirmed.