Britt Jones
Warning: This article contains allegations of child abuse, which some readers may find distressing.
A man who claimed his mom began sexually abusing him at 10 has finally had the answer to whether he is the legal father of his brother.
Logan Gifford, of Las Vegas, has been caring for his little brother ever since their mother, Doreene Gifford, was sentenced to a minimum of eight to 20 years in jail after being convicted in 2015 of attempted sexual assault, incest, and lewdness with a child under 14.
The victim in that case was Logan himself.
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However, despite the incarceration, she maintained her innocence and took an Alford plea, meaning she disagrees with the charges, but understands that the evidence provided finds her guilty.
Having been his legal carer, the 26-year-old fought for and won legal custody of his 15-year-old brother.
On August 2, he said in an update on his GoFundMe he had 'temporary sole physical and legal custody', but that wasn’t where he wanted to stop.
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Instead, he questioned whether he was his brother's biological father, due to the timeline of his abuse and his brother’s birth.
Initially, the DNA results came back inconclusive, because they matched 99.9 per cent both with Logan and also with his father, Theodore Gifford.
But now, in a shock update, Logan has been legally recognised as his father.
This comes after a family court judge ruled on Wednesday (24 September) that Logan was the rightful parent in the case.
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Judge Vincent Ochoa stated when giving his verdict, as per the Las Vegas Review-Journal: “The DNA test conducted does not have a final determination as to one of the two.
“I can’t make (Theodore) the father if he doesn’t want to participate (in the case).”
Judge Ochoa went on to note that Logan’s father did not want to participate, which made Logan the logical choice.
Ochoa added. “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.”
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For Logan, this is something that allows him to care for and protect his brother, as well as providing him with ‘closure’ over his abuse.
He told the outlet: “Clearly, we got the answer that we were anticipating. 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.”
Doreene Gifford, Logan’s mother, was paroled in 2024, but was arrested in January after violating her parole by contacting her victim.
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However, she appeared at the 10-minute hearing via video to maintain that her ex‑husband, Theodore, was the teen’s real father, before conceding due to the emotional aspect of the proceedings.
“I never had any doubt that Theodore was the father, but I cannot continue this case, mentally, physically or emotionally,” Gifford said. “I feel that it’s best that we just concede this case and stop this madness now.”
The judge is the same one who previously granted Logan temporary custody of the teen.
After that decision, she recommended further testing, but according to the Independent, Logan’s attorney, Timothy Treffinger, said it would be expensive and may not produce a more conclusive result.