West Australian News, by Roy Gibson, 20th May 2005

The mother of three has denied in court that she deliberately mislead a man into believing he was the father of her youngest child.

Kellie Gray 38 of Pinjarra told the District Court that she was shocked when DNA tests proved that her former partner 46 year old Rodney Macdonald was not the father of her son now aged three.

Ms Gray testified that she met Mr Macdonald in Northam in September 2000 and had a brief relationship with him.

Mr Macdonald of Kewdale is suing Ms Gray for damages on the grounds that she tricked him into believing he was the father of her son. He gave up a well paid job in Kalgorlie to move to Perth and have regular contact with the child.

It is alleged that Ms Gray's deceit cost Mr Macdonald an estimated $60,000 in lost income and $8000 in legal fees. It is alleged Ms Gray named Mr Macdonald as the father because she knew he would be able to pay child support.

In the evidence in January Mr Macdonald said he started to have suspicions about who was the real father. The Family Court ordered DNA tests which proved he could not be the father.

The money he paid in child support over a period of months was repaid by Ms Gray. Giving evidence in her defence when the hearing resumed yesterday ( the 19th May 2005 ) Ms Gray spoke highly of of the way her friendship with Mr Madonald developed. She would visit him at Marvel Loch and he would visit her at Northam.

A sexual relationship began in early December 2000 and Ms Gray estimated they had intercourse on seven or eight occasions. She claimed Mr Macdonald was delighted when she told him in late December 2000 that she was pregnant. However the relationship ended in January 2001 when Mr Macdonald resumed a relationship with a woman who travelled from New Zealand to be with him.

Ms Gray said she had non-consensual intercourse with a man in Northam about the December 9 or 10 and she now knew that he was the father of her child. She did not tell Mr Macdonald of the incident and tried to put it out of her mind.

"The reason why I didn't want anyone to know was because things were going so well with Rodney" she told the court. " I thought we were going to have a really good life. I didn't want anything to disrupt that. " She denied fraudulently deceiving Mr Macdonald. The hearing before Judge John Wisbey was adjourned.