FAIRWAY, Kan. -- Innocent until proven guilty is the usual burden of proof under the law. But in Kansas -- and until recently in Missouri -- there is one allegation that a man can't shake even with indisputable scientific evidence.

Kevin Ballard is No. 943 at Arrowhead Stadium, but you won't see him on the field. He works as a security guard, which is one of several odd jobs he has to support his three children.

"I've worked at jobs to where I had to shovel human poop at waste plants, ya know, to provide for my kids, so I'd do anything for my kids," he said. "I've been working since I was 16 years old."

Being a dad to three children is a responsibility he takes seriously, especially because he never had a father while growing up.

"Everybody grew up with a dad," Ballard said. "I mean, basically I didn't, but I mean everybody else grew up with a real dad to take them to ball games, cut their hair, to do whatever."

So when Ballard was told eight years ago that he was the father of a child he did what he believed was right and began paying child support. In fact, most of his paycheck goes to paying child support for his four children -- only three of whom are biologically his.

"I never got a subpoena to go to court, so I was just declared the father by default," he said.

According to a DNA test that Ballard took last year, there is no way he is the biological father to the child in question. He took the results to court to prove he wasn't the father and was told the DNA evidence did not matter. In the eyes of the state, he's still the father of the child.

By law, Ballard has to pay child support for the next nine years of the child's life or the next 12 if he goes to college.

"In other words, you don't have to be the biological father in Kansas to be the legal father of a child," said Jill Best, who is the litigation manager at the Overland Park office of Cordell and Cordell, a law firm specializing in marriage and paternity issues.

"I think most people that I tell that to are quite shocked, because it is very counterintuitive," she said.

Best said in Kansas, the court decides what it feels is in the "best interest of the child" when determining who the legal father is -- a decision that may or may not be based on DNA evidence. She said Ballard's situation is not uncommon.

"In Kansas, if you're the presumed father, being the biological father has really nothing to do with the determination of paternity."

Mario Picazo and his ex-wife Tricia Hickox remain good friends for the sake of their two children. But in August, Picazo received a summons from the Wyandotte County court. The state of Kansas wanted to name him the father of a child his ex-wife had with another man during their separation. As a result, he would be financially responsible for the child.

KCTV5 asked Picazo if he ever thought he'd be financially responsible for the child.

"No, I didn't," he said. "No, because when he was born, I knew that was not my kid."

Hickox stood by him in court and told the judge her son, Josh, is not Picazo's child. She could not believe it when the judge went ahead and named Picazo as the legal father.

"We both went in there and said we want a DNA test and she said, 'Oh, it's too late,'" Hickox said.

Despite the fact that the couple had been separated for years when she gave birth to Josh, Picazo is now his legal father. Under the law, the "husband" is considered to be the father of any children born during a marriage -- including one born from an extra-marital affair.

"No, it's not fair," Picazo said. "It's not fair for a child that's not yours."