In re S.M.

985 A.2d 413 (2009)

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In re S.M.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals
985 A.2d 413 (2009)

Facts

K.D. and H.O. (defendant) lived with their twin sons. K.D.’s 12-year-old daughter, T.D., lived elsewhere. H.O. was not T.D.’s father. A few months before the twins’ third birthday, the District of Columbia filed a complaint for child neglect against K.D. and H.O., alleging that their home was unsanitary and that T.D. claimed that H.O. had sexually abused her. K.D., who suffered from an addiction, stipulated that the twins were neglected. H.O. was charged with sex abuse, and while he was incarcerated, K.D. and the twins were placed in a family drug-treatment facility. K.D. did not recover from her addiction, and the twins were placed with a foster mother. About a year after the complaint was filed, the court changed the twins’ permanency goal from reunification with K.D. to reunification with H.O., and the court decided to wait to further modify the permanency goal until H.O.’s sex-abuse matter was resolved. H.O. was convicted of sex abuse and assault, and the court changed the permanency goal to that of adoption. H.O. petitioned for custody, and K.D. eventually consented to the twins’ adoption. The twins’ adoptive parents began spending time with the twins, who still lived with their foster mother, and H.O. regularly visited the twins. The twins moved into the adoptive parents’ home, and the adoptive parents filed a petition for adoption. When the twins were about five and a half years old, while H.O.’s sex-abuse matter was still pending, the trial court found that H.O. was withholding his consent to adoption against the twins’ best interests. The trial court made no finding that H.O. was negligent or unfit, nor did it find that clear and convincing evidence showed that adoption was in the twins’ best interests. Nevertheless, the court entered a final decree of adoption when the twins were about six and a half years old, terminating H.O.’s rights. H.O. appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Steadman, J.)

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