Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
A Las Vegas man who says his mother sexually abused him as a child has spoken out after DNA tests to see if his younger brother might be his son.
Logan Gifford, now 26, first came forward in 2015, at the age of 16, and accused his mother, Doreene Gifford, of sexually abusing him from the age of 10.
Later in 2015, Gifford was convicted of attempted sexual assault, incest, and lewdness with a child under 14, and was sentenced to eight to 20 years in jail.
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She maintained her innocence and took an Alford plea. This meant she did not admit guilt, but acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict (via PEOPLE).
She is also registered as a sex offender in Nevada, with Logan telling 8 News Now: "Sending her to prison was halfway vindicating since I thought the largest problem of my life was originally dealt with."
In July 2024, Gifford was released on parole, but was arrested in January after violating her parole by contacting her victim.
According to Logan, she now lives in Massachusetts after her arrest did not lead to her name being listed as an inmate in Clark County's database.
Now, Logan looks after his 15-year-old brother, who his mother gave birth to when Logan was 11, He says his brother has disabilities that need extra support at home and school.
Earlier this year, he requested a DNA paternity test from a Clark County Family Court judge, as he suspected that his brother could be his biological son.
This week, the DNA results came back and left him no closer to the answers he was looking for.
According to 8 News Now, the test came back inconclusive as the results matched 99.9 percent to both Logan and his father, meaning that either of them could be the biological father. This is due both parent and sibling sharing 50 per cent with the child, making it harder to determine a biological relation.
At a hearing on Thursday (July 31), Judge Vincent Ochoa said that the results weren't surprising, adding (via The Las Vegas Review-Journal): "I think we should have known that was going to come out that way from the very beginning."
Following this, the judge has granted him the option to get more extensive DNA testing to provide a clearer result.
According to his GoFundMe, the 26-year-old is now fighting for full custody of his brother, writing: "I believe he might be my son, a haunting possibility tied to the abuse I suffered around the time he was conceived.”
He added to the page: “The funds raised here will go toward legal fees for the custody and paternity battle, care for my brother, and advocacy efforts to amplify male survivors’ voices. Every bit helps, whether it’s a donation or just sharing this story.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Britt Jones