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PROVO — A toddler who was adopted without the consent or knowledge of her father will be returned to the man in the next 60 days.
Terry Achane, 31, has been fighting over custody rights for his toddler daughter Teleah was put up for adoption in 2011 by his ex-wife without telling him. On Monday, Dec. 3, a 4th District judge ruled that the girl should be returned to her father from the custody of her adoptive parents, ABC reported.
In 2010, Achane accepted a position as an Army drill instructor at Fort Jackson in South Carolina. Teleah's mother and Achane's ex-wife, Tira Bland, was expecting their second child when he moved and they began having marital problems.
Bland contracted the Adoption Center of Choice, the court said, leading her to give birth in Utah. The baby Teleah was then adopted by Jared and Kristi Frei.
Achane, who knew about the pregnancy, began a battle in the courts in 2011 to have his daughter returned to him.
The Adoption Center of Choice has a Jan. 16 hearing in Provo.