Over the course of a decade, seven women say they gave birth to children fathered by Gary Alton Matthews Jr., resulting in five often contentious child support cases in Texas and Louisiana — and more than $200,000 in unpaid child support.

The women allege Matthews engaged in reproductive cooercion and even falsfified his DNA for paternity tests. This saga, full of twists and turns, is not just a tale of deceit. It is a story about a pattern of behavior that left a trail of financial hardship, abandoned children and broken homes in its wake. And it is a story about a group of women who banded together, after enduring shame and shock, to advocate for themselves and their children.