Drill Sergeant awaits return of his baby (Updatedx2)

Twist sent us a link to a Fox News article about Drill Sergeant Terry Achane, whose ex-wife prematurely delivered their baby and then immediately gave it up for adoption without the knowledge of the baby’s father;

When he finally learned what had happened from his ex-wife, he launched a legal battle that culminated in 4th District Judge Darold McDade’s 48-page ruling Monday that the baby belongs with her father.

“He’s completely elated at the judge’s ruling,” attorney Mark Wiser told FoxNews.com. “He felt the judge could not rule any other way.”

Achane now hopes the girl’s adoptive parents, Jared and Kristi Frei, will visit him in South Carolina to make the girl’s transition as easy as possible. McDade has given the couple 60 days to return the child, Wiser said.

Of course, the Freis filed for a stay in the case so they can fight to keep the child from her biological father. They’ve set up a legal fund and there are actually people who are donating to it.

The Freis, meanwhile, who maintain a blog detailing the custody battle, did not return a message seeking comment. The couple has raised more than $22,000 in donations for adoption-related costs and attorney fees via the website.

Let me guess what kind of people can justify to themselves keeping a daughter from her Army father. Up to the point where the Freis filed a request for a stay, I blamed the adoption agency, the Adoption Center of Choice, because apparently they knew that the mother was married, but now it’s all on the Freis.

Update:

Here is a statement from the Frei family.

The father intervenes…

Several months later, we were able to track down the birth father to serve him with our adoption petition. To our great shock and dismay, he objected to our petition and intervened to stop the adoption. Over the last 19 months, despite the law requiring that a father show interest in his child and at least attempt regular communication to establish a bond, the father has never shown any interest in Leah other than to hire an attorney. He has never sent her clothes or toys, or even a gift on Christmas or her birthday. He’s never inquired into her health and well-being, or other details like when she started crawling, walking, talking, or cutting her first tooth. In short, he hasn’t shown any of the natural affection or interest of a parent. But because the child was conceived in wedlock, he can object to the adoption, forcing us to trial to terminate his parental rights.

Great shock? You mean that someone would not be receptive to the idea of losing their child to adoption without their knowledge or consent?

Updatex2:

It seems that the adoption agency is license is not going to be renewed past the new year. That are only getting a extension.

Ken Stettler, licensing director for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, told the Tribune that the Adoption Center of Choice has operated under a corrective action plan since September, when its license was extended but not renewed. The action was taken because of documentation deficiencies in some case files, Stettler said.

The extension expires at the end of December, the deadline for the agency to come into compliance. But allegations in the adoption case have raised new questions and prompted additional review, Stettler said.

Category: Military issues