RICHMOND, Va. (WSVN) — A Virginia man dumped tens of thousands of pennies on the lawn of his child’s mother for his final child support payment.
Avery Sanford spoke to WTVR and described the incident.
“I just turned 18. When I was in the middle of class, my dad came by. He had rented a trailer,” she said. “He pulled up in front of the house and turned the trailer on so it dumped out all the pennies on the grass and my mom came out and was like, ‘What are you dumping in my yard?’ She didn’t know who it was until he shouted, ‘It’s your final child support payment.”
The ordeal was captured on surveillance cameras.
Sanford said the act by her father also had an impact on her.
“It’s not just my mom he’s trying to embarrass, it’s also me and my sister and it’s upsetting that he didn’t consider that before he did that,” she said.
Sanford said after collecting the pennies, she and her mother donated the money to Safe Harbor, a domestic abuse center.
“Turning around and donating that money to moms and children in need, I feel like that really turns this situation into a positive. You can learn from it,” Sanford told WTVR.
Avery Sanford said she hasn’t spoke to her father in years and that this incident proves that she made the right decision to cut contact.
“It’s really hurtful and damaging to your kids when you do things like that. It doesn’t matter if they’re young or an adult, the actions of your parents will always have some effect on you,” Avery said.
WTVR spoke to Sanford’s father, who reported that his actions were the result of 18 years of frustration and his emotions got the best of him. He also told the station that the last thing he wanted to do was to put a further wedge between him and his daughter.
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