DeSantis v. Pegues

¶ 1. Father appeals the family court’s denial of his motion to reinstate parent-child contact following a voluntary suspension of such contact due to an allegation of child sexual abuse. We hold that the court’s finding of sexual abuse by a preponderance of the evidence was insufficient to support an order effectively terminating father’s parental rights. We reverse and remand.

¶ 2. The parties were married in 1991, adopted their daughter in 1996, and separated in July 2004. Mother and daughter stayed in the marital home, and father sought alternate housing, eventually moving into a…