A man from Las Vegas in the United States who endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of his mother now faces the possibility that his younger brother may actually be his own son.
Logan Gifford, now 26, was subjected to repeated sexual assaults by his mother, Doreene Gifford, beginning when he was just 10 years old.
The abuse continued for six years, ending only when he reported her to authorities at the age of 16.
Following his testimony, Doreene was convicted in 2015 after accepting a plea deal and sentenced to serve between 8 and 20 years in prison for attempted sexual assault. Throughout the case, she maintained her innocence.
During the trial, Logan recounted a harrowing experience from his childhood, detailing how his mother initiated the abuse.
He recalled being led into a bedroom she shared with his father, Theodore, where a pornographic video was playing. It was there that she first assaulted him.
Beyond the trauma he endured, Logan was left to help care for his younger siblings, including a 15-year-old brother whose paternity remains uncertain.
Concerned that the teenager may actually be his biological son, Logan is now seeking a court-ordered paternity test to confirm the truth.
The teenager, whose identity remains undisclosed, has cognitive challenges, a concern often associated with children born from incestuous relationships. Given the timing of his birth, coinciding with the period of Logan’s abuse, Logan suspects he could be the father.
“Look at the mess that I’m left with. I didn’t ask for any of this,” Logan told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
He has since filed a paternity petition in Las Vegas to determine whether his sibling is also his son.
His attorney, Timothy Treffinger, stated that Doreene denies Logan is the father but has expressed willingness to undergo DNA testing.
Logan believes conception may have occurred in late 2008, around the time of another assault.
His childhood was marked by instability, including multiple encounters with child protective services. Tragically, his younger brother, Liam, drowned at the age of three.
Doreene ultimately accepted an Alford plea—acknowledging that prosecutors had sufficient evidence for a conviction without admitting guilt.
At sentencing, her public defender argued that Logan’s accusations contained inconsistencies and claimed he harbored animosity toward his mother.
The defense also outlined Doreene’s troubled past, citing an abusive upbringing, time in the foster system, a violent marriage, and struggles with meth addiction.
Logan remains deeply affected by the ongoing consequences of his mother’s actions.
“I was a child when all of this happened, and yet now I’m responsible for picking up the pieces of something that really is still continuing to have an impact in my life and dragging me to deal with that,” he said.
His doubts about his brother’s paternity were first raised by a therapist when he was 17.
“I was 17 at the time. That threw me for a loop,” Logan recalled.
Currently, Logan has temporary guardianship of the teenager, who had previously been living with their father, Theodore, until January.
The younger sibling, who receives disability benefits, now resides with Logan.
If DNA testing confirms Logan as the father, the legal proceedings will shift from guardianship to a custody battle. However, determining paternity is complicated since both brothers share Theodore’s DNA, making results more difficult to interpret.
Reflecting on the painful situation, Logan acknowledged the reality he now faces.
“To sit here and say that my brother may be the product of my sexual assault is a very visceral thing to think about as a male survivor,” he said. “But he’s here now. There’s no going back and undoing anything. And he deserves to have a quality of life where he’s comfortable, where he can be a kid.”
Doreene was released on parole last July but was arrested again in January for violating a no-contact order with her victims.
She remains in custody at Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center while awaiting a parole violation hearing scheduled for April.
