Ex Parte Sullivan

We granted the petition for certiorari in this case because it is a case of first impression in several particulars. It is an adoption case. The Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the judgment of the probate court. We reverse and remand with directions.

The facts are not materially disputed. They do portray a picture of human tragedy and call for the Court to perform one of its most difficult and delicate functions.

In March of 1978, Pamela Sue Hanlon, who lived with her parents in Seymour, Indiana, became a rape victim at the age of seventeen. She learned for the first time in May of that year…