A sperm donor who subjected mothers to a “nightmare” of controlling behaviour over their child has been named by a judge as warning about the dangers of unregulated sperm donation.
Robert Charles Albon claims to have fathered more than 180 children in several countries after advertising his sperm donations services under the name Joe Donor.
Jonathan Furness KC, sitting as a deputy high court judge, took the rare step of naming him as a parent in the family court as a warning to other women who might be tempted to buy sperm from him.
In a written judgment he said it was in the public interest for Albon to be named, so “vulnerable women who are interested in such services should fully understand the risks of becoming involved with him”.
Albon, an American who lives in the north-east of England, took a same-sex couple to court demanding parental rights, including being named on the birth certificate of the child he had fathered with one of the women.
Albon had also asked for the non-biological mother to be called “aunty”, despite her having been present at the birth and being called “mother” by the child.
Rejecting his demands, the judge said Albon’s actions were “wrapped up in a veneer of seeking to protect the welfare of (the child)” but in reality, he was a man who “seeks to control”.
The court heard the couple intended Albon to have no future involvement until the child asked about their paternity and expressed a desire to see him.
Albon’s advertisements suggested he would “leave it up to the mother as to whether there should be any contact” and had only seen the child once for a photo, in a meeting that lasted no more than 10 minutes.
Furness also rejected Albon’s allegations that he and the biological mother had secretly had sex in the back of a car.
The court heard the proceedings had resulted in a breakdown in the couple’s relationship but both mothers continued wanting to be parents to the child, with care split between them. The case also caused the biological mother’s mental health to suffer, the court heard.
The judge said: “Women and children appear to be almost a commodity to him as he sets about increasing the number of his children around the globe.”
The case, which was first reported by the BBC, was heard at Cardiff family court in late 2023, when Albon was 52, but the written judgment has only recently been published.
The judge said Albon had pursued the case as a “means to control” or “punish” the mothers.
He said this and a similar case “highlights the need for women to understand the risks which they expose themselves to in approaching unlicensed, unregulated, and unofficial sperm donors”.
Both women supported naming Albon. The non-biological mother said the world needed to know the risks associated with unregulated sperm donation, calling the two-year court battle a “nightmare” and a “horror story”.
Neither woman opposed one annual email or card each year to the child from Albon under so-called “letterbox contact”, with the items kept for when the child is able to understand them.
In an interview with the Sun last year, Albon said he had been a donor for about 13 or 14 years and had fathered about 180 children.
He said he offers to send or bring semen to women or have sex with them, describing his services as his “special hobby” and he is “always on call and willing to help”.
Article by:Source: Matthew Weaver
