Utah’s Adoption Center of Choice Chooses Unethical Path UPDATED

Chalk up another despicable, immoral, unethical Utah domestic “adoption” for the record. Again, I give our readers one guess on who is representing the adoptive parents. Mmmmhmmm…you got it…Larry Jenkins.

This time, a child is plucked from a married, military father, Terry Achane, 31, of Texas who was stationed in South Carolina two years ago.

Salt Lake Tribune says “Achane and [Kira] Bland, both then residents of Texas, married in February 2009 and learned around late June 2010 that Bland was expecting their first child. Achane, who is in the U.S. Army, accompanied his wife to prenatal visits and was there when an ultrasound revealed they were having a girl. They shared a joint bank account and Achane carried Bland and her daughter from a previous relationship on his military health insurance, which he also expected would cover the new baby.”

They started having marital troubles.

In “December [2010] , according to the ruling, Bland was concerned she would end up a single mom with two children. Bland suggested she either have an abortion or pursue an adoption. Achane objected to both options.

The couple continued making plans to move to South Carolina, but their marital troubles continued. At one point they separated to have a “cooling-off period.” They also sought counseling.

In January, Bland told her husband she wanted to remain in Texas, where she has family, for their daughter’s birth. Achane was to return for the birth, after which Bland and their daughter would join him in South Carolina. He left Texas on Jan. 17, 2011, anticipating what he thought would be a short separation.

“I had already gotten clearance to come back when the baby was on the way,” he said.”

“Although Achane continued to give Bland money and make mortgage and utility payments on their Texas home, by that point he was unable to reach his wife by telephone. He had no idea what was transpiring.”

Daily Mail says that 10 days after he left for his new job in South Carolina in February 2011, his now ex-wife Kira Bland went into premature labor and selected a Utah prospective adoptive couple Jared and Kristi Freis. The APs had 5 children but wanted more after miscarriages and sudden infertility issues. Kira gave birth in Utah on March 1, 2011.

Dishonesty

Salt Lake Tribune says “Two days later, Bland relinquished her parental rights and the infant was placed with the Freis. At the time, Bland claimed her husband had abandoned her and was not interested in raising the child, according to the ruling.

Bland told the Adoption Center of Choice it could reach her husband in Texas, though she knew he was in South Carolina and thus would not receive any legal notices sent to his former address. Bland also apparently withheld Achane’s telephone number from the agency and later claimed she did not contact him about the birth because her phone wasn’t working.

The adoption agency informed the Freis that the father did not know his daughter had been placed for adoption in Utah and it was likely he would contest the placement if he found out. The Freis, the judge noted in his ruling, “acknowledged this risk but decided they wanted to proceed forward with the adoptive placement anyway.””

Daily Mail says “Kept in the dark throughout this with months  of being unable to reach his wife, Mr Achane asked a friend to visit her home in  Texas who reported that the house appeared vacant.

Feverishly calling anyone who may know where  his wife could be, while fearing she may have carried out the abortion she once  threatened to do, he learned from a family doctor that his wife was no longer  pregnant but they could not legally disclose what had happened to the  baby.

An ounce of relief only came to the horrified  man when his wife finally called him in June, telling him she had signed away  their baby to the Frei family.

‘I believe she felt guilty at that point  because she just made a call out of the blue,’ he said of his ex-wife’s phone  call.

Once he learned of his daughter’s fate, he  immediately tried to track his little girl down but upon contact with the  adoption center they refused to disclose any information on her  whereabouts.”

Salt Lake Tribune says “In June 2011, Bland for the first time informed her husband she had given birth in Utah and placed the child through the Adoption Center of Choice.

“I was like, ‘Utah? Where is Utah?’ I’d never been to Utah, she’s never been to Utah,” he said. “Adoption? Who does that? … I believe she felt guilty at that point because she just made a call out of the blue,” said Achane.

That same day, Achane contacted the adoption agency and requested information about his child, which the agency refused to give him.

An attorney later contacted Achane, confirmed an adoption was in process and asked for his consent. Achane refused and told the attorney he wanted his daughter returned to him.

Instead, the Freis proceeded with the adoption. In their adoption petition, filed in July 2011, the couple acknowledged Achane was married to Bland when the child was conceived and born and that he had never consented to the adoption. They asked that his parental rights be terminated because he “abandoned the natural mother during her pregnancy” and “had not developed a substantial relationship” or otherwise taken responsibility for his daughter.

Achane intervened in the case and in October, more than a year later, a two-day hearing finally took place.”

Daily Mail says “The agency told the court in October that it  was standard procedure to not share any information with a father of a potential  adoptive child when asked.”

“Judge Darold McDade berated the Adoption  Center of Choice’s handling as ‘utterly indefensible.’

‘This is a case of human trafficking,’ Mr  Achane’s attorney Mark Wiser told the Tribune.

‘Children are being bought and sold. It  is one thing  what [adoption agencies] have been doing with unmarried  biological fathers. It  is in a new area when they are trying to take a  child away from a married  father who wants to have his child.'”

When an attorney for the Frei family  contacted Mr Achane, asking him to consent to the adoption, he said no and  demanded his little girl returned to him – to the Frei family’s complete  surprise.

‘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,’ the family writes in their  blog.

Despite a judge’s order to return the child  within 60 days, the family now asks that his parental rights granting him  custody of her be terminated.

They accuse him of abandoning both the mother  and baby during her pregnancy and therefore demonstrating no capability for  raising the girl.

‘The right of a fit, competent parent to  raise the parent’s child without undue government interference is a fundamental  liberty interest that has long been protected by the laws and constitution of  this state of the United States, and is a fundamental public policy of this  state,’ said Judge McDade.

He added that there is no law requiring the  father to ‘prove himself’ as fit to father his own child.

‘Once Mr Achane contacted the Adoption Center  of Choice … to let them know he opposed the adoption and wanted his daughter  back, that should have been the end of this case,’ said Mr  McDade.”

“A hearing has been set for January 16 of next  year on the child’s transition back to her father.”

Blogging and Fundraising

Of course, you guessed it… the adoptive parents have a weepy blog that is raising money for their “cause.” See that here . It reminds me of the Capobianco’s blog in the Justen Brown ICWA case that we have been following. See that post here.

Daily Mail says “Not going down without a fight, the Freis vow  to appeal the judge’s decision, asking friends and family to support their case  financially through their blog.

They note having paid for ‘two already  expensive adoptions (each costing around $25,000),’ with a continuing fight only  requiring more money.

Their online petition has since raised more  than $20,000.”

Salt Lake Tribune published a hysterical example from the AP’s blog: “”We have not lost our conviction that we are in the right!!!!!!” Kristi Frei wrote after McDade’s Nov. 20 ruling dismissed their adoption petition. “We have only ever wanted to do right by Leah, and have always felt we have been acting in her best interest to keep her with our family and raise her as our own. Our hearts have demanded it — there has never been any question to us that she is OURS!!!””

Give the Child Back

Salt Lake Tribune says “A 4th District Court judge says he is “astonished and deeply troubled” by a Utah adoption agency’s deliberate move to circumvent the rights of a married man whose daughter was adopted at birth without his knowledge.

The Provo judge, while noting the birth mother had deceived her husband, the adoption agency and the prospective parents, has given the adoptive couple 60 days to give the child back.”

“In a 48-page ruling, Judge Darold McDade said the Adoption Center of Choice’s policy of refusing to disclose any information to Terry Achane once he learned what had happened to his baby is “utterly indefensible.”

Salt Lake City attorneys Mark and Scott Wiser, the father/son team that represented Achane, used even stronger language for what occurred.

“This is a case of human trafficking,” said Mark Wiser. “Children are being bought and sold. It is one thing what [adoption agencies] have been doing with unmarried biological fathers. It is in a new area when they are trying to take a child away from a married father who wants to have his child.”

Jared and Kristi Frei, the adoptive parents, declined to comment, as did Kasey Wright, their former attorney, and Larry Jenkins, newly hired to represent the couple. James Webb, executive director of the Adoption Center of Choice, based in American Fork, did not return a call from The Salt Lake Tribune. The Tribune attempted to reach Tira Bland, the birth mother who is now divorced from Achane, but was unsuccessful.”

Birthmother’s Side

Salt Lake Tribune says , “When her husband left Texas to take a new post with the U.S. Army, Tira Bland says she felt all alone and abandoned.

That’s why Bland said she decided, days later, to come to Utah to place Terry Achane’s child for adoption.

“He didn’t leave me with an address or anything,” said Bland. “He just said good-bye. It wasn’t anything like ‘I love you’ or ‘I will be back for you and the baby.’ It was just like he didn’t care.”

Achane’s version of what happened is decidedly different — the version backed by a Utah judge who found Achane had not abandoned his wife and child and that the adoption violated his rights and Utah law.”

“Bland, 29, stepped forward earlier this week to give her side of the story — something she said she also tried to do back in October as the case went to trial and she felt maligned.”

“They went to counseling, arranged by Achane’s commanding officer, but “she couldn’t help us,” Bland said. At one point, Bland considered an abortion or adoption, but Achane objected and they continue to move forward together.

Achane successfully bid for a job as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and was told to report for duty by Feb. 1, 2011. Achane said he left Texas on Jan. 17, 2011, to find a home for his family before starting the new assignment. Bland wanted to stay in Texas to give birth, and Achane said he planned to come back for the delivery. He expected Bland to then join him in South Carolina.”

“Achane continued to deposit funds in their joint bank account, which was set up to automatically pay mortgage and other household bills. Achane said his wife also had access to money to pay for groceries, as well as pregnancy and living expenses. But Bland said there was little money left over for her and she felt Achane had no interest in their baby.

“When I was left in the home, I had no vehicle or anything at the time, I didn’t have any money,” she said. Although she had a part-time job preparing taxes, it “wasn’t a big-time job to support me, a dog, two kids and a home.”

In fact, Bland’s car, which she was responsible to make payments on, had been repossessed. Achane arranged to have a brother fix a spare vehicle so she could use it. In the meantime, she had access to her mother’s car.

Bland said she spent days in bed crying about her situation. Within 10 days of her husband’s departure, she decided to pursue an adoption for their child.

She had heard of the Adoption Center of Choice, then based in Orem, from a television program on MTV about pregnant teenagers. Bland found a telephone number for the agency online and contacted them on Feb. 9, 2011. The agency arranged for Bland to travel to Utah to give birth.

Before leaving Texas, Bland said she and family members tried to reach out to Achane, but were unsuccessful. At one point, his phone was cut off; at another point, her phone was cut off, she said.

“There was not talking back and forth between each other,” she said, a silence that continued once she arrived in Utah in February.

Bland said she also contacted Achane’s commanding officer in Texas and asked him to relay her plans to her husband.

“He reassured me he did,” Bland said, “and told me that [Achane] was going to get a divorce from me and put our house up for sale. I was left to figure it all out on my own.”

“When I met Terry, I was a single mother and I was a struggling single mother,” Bland said. “I was living in a one-bedroom apartment and didn’t have any money and knew the harshness for a child of being a single mother. All I could see was the best for my girls at the time. I knew if I was going to go through an adoption agency, I knew someone could help me. It was all of the sudden, but it was all I had at the time.”

Bland arrived in Utah and was put up in an apartment complex in Orem, where she said about five other pregnant women working with the agency also lived.

She was given two profiles of prospective adoptive parents and was considering one of them when she was given the Frei’s profile. Bland said she knew instantly they were the right family for her daughter — a feeling confirmed after she met with them.

“They were very nice and sweet people, very well educated,” said Bland. She liked what they had to say about their other children five children, one adopted, and about their Christian beliefs.

And she held nothing back about her situation, Bland said, denying any effort to mislead the agency or the adoptive parents.

“I was truthful about how I was married, they knew all of that,” she said. The Freis “were very compassionate about my story and wanted the best for me as well as the baby.”

Bland said the agency “really didn’t say much” about her marital situation. “They just followed their procedures to reach him. … No one really talked about it. We were all thinking about the well-being of the baby.”

Leah, also called Teleah by her father, was born March 1, 2011, about three weeks before her due date. Bland said she was not induced, but that the stress of the situation likely triggered the premature delivery.

As for the birth expenses, Bland said she is not sure if the Freis paid them or they were covered through TRICARE, the health insurance available to military members and their families. “It could have been through TRICARE,” she said. After the birth, Bland returned to Texas and moved in with her parents.

Achane, 31, said he was unable to reach Bland during this period, either because she would not take his calls or, for a time, because her phone was not working. In March, concerned about the baby’s imminent arrival, he asked a friend to drive by their home and learned it appeared vacant.

He then contacted Bland’s sister and brother-in-law and found out his wife was no longer pregnant. The relatives said they did not know what had happened to the baby. Achane said he then called Bland’s doctors, believing she either had an abortion or given birth, but was told health privacy laws barred sharing any information with him.

Achane said he tried but could not reach or locate his wife. Bland said months passed without any word from her husband.

“I still wasn’t receiving anything from him,” she said. “He wasn’t calling [my parents] to see how I was doing. … It seemed odd.”

Bland also said that, despite still being married, she was no longer getting any financial support from him, such as housing pay.

Bland said she contacted Achane’s new commanding officer in South Carolina to complain about the lack of support, a call that took place in June.

“I was trying to let them know that he had a wife out here he wasn’t even supporting, and a child,” Bland said, referring to Achane’s stepdaughter.

The commanding officer put Achane on the line.

Bland said she doesn’t remember all the details of the conversation, but recalls Achane telling her he had continued to put money in their joint account. He did not, she said, ask about their daughter. Bland informed him she had placed the child for adoption.

Achane said he was dumbfounded by the news and called the Adoption Center of Choice that same day seeking information about his child, which they declined to provide. An attorney for the agency subsequently contacted Achane and asked him to consent to the adoption. He refused and intervened in the adoption proceeding the Freis initiated in July 2011, which culminated in a two-day hearing in October.

Achane divorced Bland in March. Bland said she is offended that in those divorce documents Achane claimed they had no children together — something Achane said he did because of the adoption action a year earlier.

As for that adoption, Bland, who works as a hairstylist and for the Texas Department of Transportation, said she did “what was right for me at the time.”

Achane deserves respect because as a soldier he “fights for our country,” she said, but other aspects of his character also should be looked at.

“I felt if he would abandon me, he would abandon her,” Bland said. “It was a trust issue. … Why give a child to someone who abandoned her mother when she was seven months pregnant? I do believe in second chances but on this, I just don’t understand it.”

Terry’s Lawyer’s Response in Salt Lake Tribune comment section

These details are extremely important to the abandonment and disinterest charges that the APs and birthmother have made.

From story published December 7, 2012

“From Attorney Mark Wiser: Birth Mother decided to give their child up for adoption 10 days after he left for military duty when she had money in the bank, took over $500 of ATM withdrawals from their checking account, used their debit card for fast-food purchases and beauty supplies.  She said she had no job, but at trial she testified was was working part-time.  She said she did not notify him because she didn’t have a phone to use.  I asked her couldn’t she have just asked her friend to let her make one phone call.  She also was receiving family allowance money from the military a few months later.  Her story in the paper does not match her story at trial. I was there.    How do you call it abandonment when husband had to report for military duty and had only been gone for 10 days!  He wanted her to go to South Carolina and she backed out 2-3 days before he left.   Sgt Achane is on his 12th year of military duty, and she knew this when she married him. The Freis statement is not true.  There was no abandonment and they wanted him to “prove himself”.  The Judge said Father does not have to prove himself.  It is true he didn’t call to speak on the phone to his 4 month old baby at the time or write her letters because he never had their address, and his daughter can’t read or participate in a phone call.  Sgt. Achane just received the Freis contact information last week, after 21 months and only after the Judge ordered it to be released.”

Visitation by Terry

Army Times says, “The toddler will remain in temporary custody of the adoptive parents as the appeal process plays out, Wiser said. The next hearing in state district court is scheduled for January.

The Freis are willing to allow Achane to visit the girl but want him to travel from his home in South Carolina to Utah and pay his own way, Wiser said. Achane can’t afford that, he said.”

 CNN says “The Freis have requested a stay of the judge’s order and are planning to appeal.

Terry Achane says his battle has lasted 18-19 months so far. He has been able to see his daughter twice and says he was very happy the first time he saw her. “The only hurtful part about it is when it’s time to go, when I am giving her back, meaning she’s not coming with me…that’s the only hard part of it.”

Court documents show that the adoptive parents were informed by the adoption agency that the father was not informed about the adoption. Mr. Achane says that the Freis are also victims, but at the same time they did know that he didn’t know about the adoption, adding “once I asked for my daughter back it should have just happened then and there, instead of prolonging this, taking me all through this.”

The father states “I’ve been going through it for awhile now, my main focus is just to get my daughter back”

Sources:

US married father’s horror after wife places his child with an adopted family without telling him

[Daily Mail 12/3/12 by Nina Golgowski]

Father is ready to turn page on Utah adoption horror story

[Salt Lake Tribune 12/3/12 by Brooke Adams]

Terry Achane, Jared and Kristi Freis Utah custody battle after secret adoption

[Examiner 12/6/12 by Rachael Monaco]

Utah adoption scandal: Birth mom felt abandoned by husband

[Salt Lake Tribune 12/7/12 by Brooke Adams]

GI father battles for custody of baby

[Army Times 12/7/12 by Brady McCombs/Associated Press]

Dad: My focus is to get my daughter back

[CNN Blogs/Anderson Cooper 12/7/12]

REFORM Puzzle Pieces

Update: “A Utah judge on Friday [January 4, 2013] refused to stay his decision giving a South Carolina father custody of his 22-month-old daughter, who was placed for adoption by his ex-wife without the man’s knowledge or consent.

Fourth District Judge Darold McDade also left intact his ruling that set a Jan. 16 deadline for the couple who now have the child to give her up.

Lance Rich, an attorney representing adoptive parents Jared and Kristi Frei, said they will ask the Utah Court of Appeals to issue a stay while they appeal McDade’s rulings.

The Freis declined to comment after the 2½-hour hearing, which McDade scheduled on short notice and closed to media. Terry Achane, the child’s father, was unable to travel to Utah for the hearing, his attorney said.

“It’s a very weighty issue for the judge,” Scott Wiser, one of Achane’s attorneys, said outside the courtroom. “It’s a difficult human case and [the judge] is trying to do the best he can with the arguments out there, the rights of the parties, and what’s best for Teleah. That was forefront in his mind, what’s in Teleah’s best interests.”

“She’s going to be well loved by both these parents,” Wiser added. “She’s going to be just fine in Mr. Achane’s care. He loves her, he has plans. The Freis have been wonderful parents, but the bottom line is he has a fundamental right protected by the Constitution — one of the oldest rights we have — to raise his own daughter, and the law respects that.”

Wiser said the parties would discuss visitation and the reunification process while they wait to see what the Court of Appeals decides. Achane is a drill sergeant for the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina, and traveling to Utah to see his daughter is a hardship, he said.

“Right now Mr. Achane is the only person with legal rights to the child,” Wiser said. “He is the only legal parent, the only person with rights, so right now he’s getting custody unless something happens between now and then.”

Steven Boone of Pleasant Grove showed up at the courthouse Friday and waited until the hearing ended to hand Achane’s attorney a check to help with legal expenses. Boone said he wanted to support Achane to show the Freis “this won’t be tolerated by their peers.”

“If you keep allowing people to do the wrong things, it won’t stop,” said Boone, who became interested in father’s rights issues while fighting his ex-wife for custody of their son. “I wanted to show that the public doesn’t accept it. I know I’m just one person, but eventually others will [act].”

A fundraising effort to aid Achane’s legal fight has collected about $3,000, according to a Facebook page. The Freis also are soliciting help with their legal bills and have raised over $22,000.”

The sidebar story is about Adoption Center of Choice’s licensure. “State issues conditional license for agency

State regulators have given the Adoption Center of Choice five months to address rule violations in order to keep its license.

The agency had been operating under a corrective action plan since September, when its license was extended but not renewed while it tried to meet state requirements. That extension expired at the end of December.

The agency on Jan. 3 was given a conditional license that will expire in May, when it must be in full compliance with state rules, said Ken Stettler, director of the Office of Licensing for the Utah Department of Human Services.

Among concerns was a lack of documentation in case files maintained by the Adoption Center of Choice, Stettler said. An administrative rule requires adoption agencies to have a policy and procedure manual outlining all aspects of its operation, from employee training to how it identifies children available for adoption and evaluates prospective adoptive parents. In particular, the agency did not have adequate files on children, birth parents and prospective adoptive parents.

“There were a number of past cases and a few current that did not have all of the items that are mentioned in this rule,” he said.

The agency has 10 days to appeal the decision to an administrative law judge. At the end of May, if it has not corrected the deficiencies, the state could suspend its license for up to a year.”

Utah judge upholds decision to give father custody of his child

[Salt Lake Tribune 1/4/13 by Brooke Adams]

To help Terry’s case financially, go to the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SupportTerryAchane#!/SupportTerryAchane

Update 2: On January 16, 2013, Utah Supreme Court put a temporary hold on the return of Terry Achane’s daughter.

Drill sergeant Terry Achane was waiting in  Dallas airport to board a flight to Utah when he was told that a hearing  scheduled for today, that would have likely reunited him with baby Teleah, was  cancelled.

‘He’s extremely disappointed,’ his attorney,  Mark Wiser, told MailOnline. ‘He’s waited almost two years to gain custody of  his daughter. Everyday without her is heart-wrenching.’

Achane’s officers at Fort Jackson in South  Carolina ordered him to return to the base until the court makes a final  ruling.

‘The decision could happen anywhere from  tomorrow, to next week to a month from now,’ Wiser said.

The Supreme Court said the provisional stay  on the petition for emergency relief filed by the adoptive parents, Jared and  Kristi Frei, would give it ‘the time necessary to adjudicate the request for  emergency relief.’

But the court didn’t indicate how long that  might take.

Wiser said it could be something as simple as  one or two of the justices were not available for the hearing or that the court  wanted more time to read through the information in the case.

‘There is quite a bit of material,’ he  said.

The Freis are appealing the decision made by  Fourth District Judge Darold McDade on November 20 and upheld on January  4.

If the petition for ’emergency relief’ is  granted it means Achane, not the Freis, will have custody of Teleah while the  appeal takes place.

Wiser said Achane had arranged time off work  and Teleah’s grandmother had flown to South Carolina to help out with the  transition

The sergeant had also footed the cost of  flights from South Carolina to Utah as well as hotels for when he  arrived.

‘He had to bear all the cost of that, so  that’s frustrating,’ Wiser said. ‘He’s hoping to get his daughter back as soon  as possible.’

The adoptive parents of a little girl given  away without her father’s knowledge are trying to block her return to  him.

Achane was ‘completely elated’ after Judge  McDade ruled late last year his baby daughter would be given back to him by  mid-January after he was stripped of his parental rights to raise the  child.

But the Utah couple who adopted her at birth  quickly filed a motion asking that McDade stay his order dismissing their  adoption petition and requiring the baby be returned. In January, McDade upheld  his decision but the case then went to the state’s high court.

The Freis, who have five other children, are  appealing the decision.

Their lawyer Larry Jenkins told ABC  News in December: ‘They believe the  district court made some fundamental  errors in its decision and they will raise  those with the appropriate  appellate court. Yes, they will appeal.’

The couple said they were ‘deeply saddened’  by the court’s ruling to give Teleah back to ‘a father she does not know at  all.’

In December it was revealed the Utah adoption  agency that organised the botched adoption had been under the scrutiny of state  licensing officials for three months.

Licensing director for the Utah  Department  of Health and Human Services Ken Stettler told the Salt Lake  City Tribune that  the Adoption Center of Choice had been operating under a corrective action plan  since September when its license  was extended but not renewed.

But the case of baby Teleah has raised new  questions and prompted additional review.

Achane won the long legal battle on  November  20 to gain back custody of his toddler who his wife placed with the Freis  without telling him. The Utah judge ordered the girl’s  adoptive parents to  return her to him within the next 60 days in a  48-page ruling.

Judge  McDade condemned the adoption agency  that handled Achane’s daughter’s  case for refusing to disclose any information  to him nearly two years  ago when he learned that his child had been given away  without his  consent, according to the Salt Lake  Tribune.

On a blog about the case, the  Freis have  raised more than $20,000 to help with legal bills. They  described the arrival  of Achane’s daughter in their lives as ‘a  righteous desire blessed to fruition  by God.’

‘We have not lost our conviction that we are  in the right!!!!!!’ Kristi Frei wrote. ‘We have only ever wanted to do right by  Leah, and have always felt we have been acting in her  best interest to keep her  with our family and raise her as our own. Our  hearts have demanded it — there  has never been any question to us that  she is OURS!!!’

Achane said it was just days after he left  his pregnant wife for his new job out of state that she quietly signed over  their unborn  baby to a family of seven in Utah.

The military man said that he and his wife,  Tira Bland, were having marital problems not long after learning she was  pregnant in 2010, leading to her decision and his now spiraling struggle despite  a judge ordering the girl returned to him last October.

The now ex-husband says Bland had  suggested  having an abortion or giving their child up for adoption –  fearing she would  end up as a single mother – but he said no,  encouraging their daughter’s  birth.

It was just months later in February  of 2011  that Achane found himself sent to Fort Jackson in South  Carolina for work,  believing he’d leave and come back a new dad.

Ten days after his move, however, his wife  went gave birth to a premature  baby and signed away their child before cutting  all contact with her  husband.

‘I was like, “Utah? Where is Utah?” I’d never  been to Utah. She’s never been to Utah,'” Mr Achane told the Salt Lake  Tribune of the moment he first heard  the bizarre and horrifying news.

Sent to live with Jared and Kristi Frei, who  had spent  the last few years struggling to naturally expand their family of  five  children, the baby found herself in the city of Spanish Fork.

‘We knew that we were not done having  children, but after years of sudden infertility and several miscarriages… we  discovered somewhere down the line that Kristi had advanced  endometriosis, and  would not likely conceive or carry another child  again,’ the Frei family write  of their struggle in ablogaimed at raising money for their court  battle.

Turning to adoption, in early 2009 the Frei  family grew their family by one more with a baby boy named James.

Desiring to add one more child – ‘a close,  similar sibling’ for James – they found Achane’s daughter, whom they named  Leah.

‘Since that eventful day, we have, as a  family, come to know that this dream was a righteous desire blessed  to fruition  by God, and that Leah would be that child – and yet, little  did we know the  challenges and trials that awaited us in finding and  fighting for this little  girl,’ they wrote.

Adoption Center  of Choice told the new  family that Achane wasn’t aware of his  daughter’s placement with them and that  he would most likely contest it if he found out.

The Tribune reports that Bland had given the  adoption agency Achene’s former  address in Texas for contact, knowing full well  at the time that he was  not living there.

With the judge’s recent ruling, he noted the  Freis family acknowledged the risk of the father’s upset but ‘decided they  wanted to proceed forward with the adoptive placement anyway.’

Kept in the dark throughout this with months  of being unable to reach his wife, Achane asked a friend to visit her home in  Texas who reported that the house appeared vacant.

Feverishly calling anyone who may know where  his wife could be, while fearing she may have carried out the abortion she once  threatened to do, he learned from a family doctor that his wife was no longer  pregnant but they could not legally disclose what had happened to the  baby.

An ounce of relief only came to the horrified  man when his wife finally called him in June, telling him she had signed away  their baby to the Frei family.

‘I believe she felt guilty at that point  because she just made a call out of the blue,’ he said of his ex-wife’s phone  call.

Once he learned of his daughter’s  fate, he  immediately tried to track his little girl down but upon  contact with the  adoption center they refused to disclose any  information on her  whereabouts.

The agency told the court in October that it  was standard procedure to not  share any information with a father of a  potential adoptive child when  asked.

‘I am not a very religious person,’ Achane  has since told the Tribune, ‘but thou shalt not steal.’

Speaking of the drawn out legal battle, he  said: ‘If they prolong it, that is more time away from my daughter. There are  precious moments I can’t get back. … It has been a year and a half now. There  is no court order saying they have the right to my child. I just won the case. I  want to get my daughter and raise my daughter,’ he said.

Judge McDade berated the Adoption Center of  Choice’s handling as ‘utterly indefensible.’

‘This is a case of human trafficking,’  Achane’s attorney Mark Wiser told the Tribune.

‘Children are being bought and sold. It  is one thing  what [adoption agencies] have been doing with unmarried  biological fathers. It  is in a new area when they are trying to take a  child away from a married  father who wants to have his child.’

When an attorney for the Frei family  contacted Achane, asking him to consent to the adoption, he said no and demanded  his little girl returned to him – to the Frei family’s complete  surprise.

‘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,’ the family writes in their  blog.

Despite a judge’s order to return the child  within 60 days, the family now asks that his parental rights granting him  custody of her be terminated.

They accuse him of abandoning both the mother  and baby during her pregnancy and therefore demonstrating no capability for  raising the girl.

‘The right of a fit, competent parent to  raise the parent’s child without undue government interference is a fundamental  liberty interest that has long been protected by the laws and constitution of  this state of the United States, and is a fundamental public policy of this  state,’ said Judge McDade.

He added that there is no law requiring the  father to ‘prove himself’ as fit to father his own child.

‘Once Mr Achane contacted the Adoption Center  of Choice … to let them know he opposed the adoption and wanted his daughter  back, that should have been the end of this case,’ said McDade.

Not going down without a fight, the Freis vow  to appeal the judge’s decision, asking friends and family to support their case  financially through their blog.

They note having paid for ‘two already  expensive adoptions (each costing around $25,000),’ with a continuing fight only  requiring more money.

Their online petition has since raised more  than $20,000.”

Soldier’s agony as court puts temporary block on return of daughter, 2, who his wife gave up for adoption without telling him

[Daily Mail 1/16/13 by Helen Pow]

Update 3: Terry is reunited with his daughter while Freis continue to fight it.

“On Friday [January 25, 2013] the original trial judge, Darold McDade who ruled in Achane’s favor, held a transfer hearing that resulted in the little girl and her father being united this weekend for the first time since she was born 22 months ago.”

“This is the first known case where the Utah State Supreme Court has removed a child from an [adoptive parent’s] home and returned the child to the … legal father,” said Achane’s lawyer Mark Wiser.

Wiser called the Supreme Court’s ruling a “huge victory” for “equal parental rights,” meaning one parent can’t put a child up for adoption without the other’s permission, and decried the adoption practice in Utah.

“Terry Achane believes that justice is finally taking place,” Wiser said, adding that his client remains “heartbroken that he has missed 22 months of his daughter’s life because of what happened.  This is time that he and his daughter can never replace.”

Calls to the Freis were not returned. In an emails to ABCNews.com, their lawyer Larry Jenkins wrote: “The Freis have asked us not to comment publicly about the case.”

The Freis, however, have maintained a blog about the case where they claim that Achane “left [Bland] without any money, a car, or details of his whereabouts. Needing to act quickly for the best interest of her unborn child, and with incredible faith, fortitude, and courage, she put her child up for adoption.”

In 2008, Kristi Frei was diagnosed with endometriosis and told she would not be able to conceive, according to the blog.

The Freis insist that it was they who tracked down Achane “several months” after adopting the baby, whom they call Leah, but to “our great shock and dismay” he refused to consent to the adoption.

The judge said in his ruling, however, that the couple knew that Achane had never been consulted and “acknowledged this risk but decided they wanted to proceed forward with the adoptive placement anyway.”

Drill Sergeant Reunited With Baby That Mom Gave Up to Adoption

[ABC Good Morning America 1/27/13 by Russell Goldman]

“The girl can now return home with her father, until a March hearing in Utah’s  high court.”
“As reported by the Salt Lake Tribune, Rich  stated: ‘The Freis’ focus and concerns at this time are to enable her to make a  successful transition to her father.

‘Please respect the privacy of the Frei  family and also of the child in this case and allow all involved in this case to  heal from this experience.’

Achane told the Tribune that the decision was  ‘hard’ on the Frei family and that there were a ‘lot of tears.’

‘They raised my daughter right,’ Achane  added. ‘They love my daughter just as much as I do.'”

“The Frei family lawyer Larry Jenkins told ABC  Newsin December: ‘They believe the  district court made some fundamental  errors in its decision and they will raise  those with the appropriate  appellate court. Yes, they will appeal.”

“Despite a judge’s order to return the child  within 60 days, the family now asks that his parental rights granting him  custody of her be terminated.

They accuse him of abandoning both the mother  and baby during her pregnancy and therefore demonstrating no capability for  raising the girl.

‘The right of a fit, competent parent to  raise the parent’s child without undue government interference is a fundamental  liberty interest that has long been protected by the laws and constitution of  this state of the United States, and is a fundamental public policy of this  state,’ said Judge McDade.

He added that there is no law requiring the  father to ‘prove himself’ as fit to father his own child.

‘Once Mr Achane contacted the Adoption Center  of Choice … to let them know he opposed the adoption and wanted his daughter  back, that should have been the end of this case,’ said McDade.”

 

Soldier wins 22-month custody battle and finally reunited with daughter, 2, who his wife gave up for adoption without telling him

[Daily Mail 1/25/13]

Update 4: The Freis Stop their challenge. Hat Tip commenter Astrin

“On Monday, Jared and Kristi Frei asked the Utah Supreme Court to voluntarily dismiss their appeal, saying the continued legal battle wasn’t worth the potential psychological damage the 2-year-old girl might experience if her custody continued to shift.”

Of course the child will already have psychological damage from being separated from her dad. The Freis should do the ethical thing and pay Terry’s legal expenses.

Utah couple ends legal fight over child’s adoption

[The Salt Lake Tribune 2/11/13 by Brooke Adams]