DENVER -- Has a Denver mother committed fraud? Does a man have a right to know he's not the biological father? It's an issue of ethics, honesty and an outdated Colorado law.

Video

Watch Tony Kovaleski's interview with Dylan Davis.

7NEWS Investigator Tony Kovaleski explained how a DNA test confirmed years of suspicion and created a controversy between the law, modern science and a Colorado family.

On home video, Dylan Davis can be seen playing with his twins just days before his divorce.

"It hurts. I mean I love them, but you know -- why do they deserve to live a lie?" Dylan Davis asks.

For nearly six years Dylan believed he was their biological father -- their real dad.

Tony Kovaleski/ 7NEWS: Do you love them?
Dylan Davis, ex-husband, ex dad: Yes I do. Yes.

Eight years into the marriage, the relationship crumbled. After the divorce was final, Dylan acted on a rumor he heard years before -- that the unthinkable had occurred, that another man may have fathered his twins.

The possibility brought him to a genetic testing center in Denver.

John Bergren, Analytical Genetic Testing: When you're excluded in a case, you can be 100 percent sure you're not the father.

That's exactly what the lab told Dylan --- the truth came back in black and white.

Kovaleski: What was it like when your read that report?
Dylan Davis: I lost two kids -- I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. The DNA doesn't lie.

Dylan said he now knows the twins were conceived while he served in the Navy during the Gulf War. But despite proof he's not the dad, Colorado law and legal technicalities require him to write a child support check every month for the next 12 years.

Kovaleski: Is this about money?
Dylan Davis: No. It's about accountability. The laws are holding me accountable for something that I did not do.

That accountability will cost Dylan more than $145,000 between now and the twins' 19th birthday.

Under Colorado law, a man has only five years to contest whether or not he's the biological father. The twins were six and the divorce was final so it was too late when the DNA proved Dylan's not their dad.

Carnell Smith, Citizens Against Paternity Fraud: I believe the guy who got the mother pregnant should be paying child support.

The founder and director of Atlanta-based Citizens Against Paternity Fraud estimates that Dylan's dilemma impacts 1 million men nationwide.

Carnell Smith, Citizens Against Paternity Fraud: Dylan has been tricked by the mother and trapped by the law.

Kovaleski: Ms. Davis?
Stacey Davis, Dylan's ex-wife: (at car) Yea
Kovaleski: Do you have a moment?
Stacey Davis: Nope -- not for you.

We asked Dylan's ex-wife for reaction.

Kovaleski: Do you want to see the results? Do you think he should keep paying?

Kovaleski: Ultimately, when this is over what do you want?
Dylan Davis: I don't ever want this to happen to another family again. This is not right.Children do not deserve this.

Dylan says he will pursue a change in Colorado's law. We spoke with state representative Andrew Romanoff. He's reviewing the possibilities and considering sponsoring a change in the law.

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