SUMMARY: Termination of parental rights was proper where the father was incarcerated and would remain so for the length of the child’s minority.
In November 2011, Aereelle was removed from the mother’s home. A supplemental petition was filed on October 9, 2012, as to her father, PaceLeon, that alleged she was within the meaning of N.R.S. 43-247(3)(a) and also petitioned for termination of PaceLeon’s parental rights. Trial was held on April 11, 2013. Testimony during trial established that PaceLeon had an extensive criminal history, was recently sentenced to lengthy incarcerations and would not be released until after Aereelle became an adult. PaceDeon had also not contacted Aereelle since she entered foster care in November 2011. After trial, the juvenile court terminated PaceLeon’s parental rights. He appealed.
The Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the termination. After finding that the statutory grounds for termination were satisfied as Aereelle had been out of home more than 15 of the past 22 months, the Court of Appeals noted that Aereelle would reach the age of majority before PaceLeon would be released from prison and able to act as a parent. It concluded termination was in Aereelle’s best interests.