Opinion ID: 2636685
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Juvenile Court Properly Found Mr. Nuosci to Be an Unfit Parent

Text: ¶ 25 The juvenile court could consider Mr. Nuosci's extensive criminal history and pervasive fraudulent behavior as grounds for termination. Utah Code section 78A-6-508(6)(b) provides that conviction of a crime, if the facts surrounding the crime are of such a nature as to indicate the unfitness of the parent to provide adequate care to the extent necessary for the child's physical, mental, or emotional health and development is prima facie evidence of unfitness. ¶ 26 In 2005, Mr. Nuosci was convicted of numerous federal felonies, including mail fraud, identity theft, and bank fraud. Prior to his convictions in the United States, Mr. Nuosci was also convicted in Canada of fraud-related charges on at least four separate occasions and of one charge of uttering threats. In addition to these convictions, Mr. Nuosci repeatedly lied to the court, to government officials, and to those with whom he had personal relationships. Indeed, he lied to Ms. Sullivan in order to induce her to enter into the surrogacy contract with him. The juvenile court properly found that the facts surrounding his repeated acts of dishonesty were sufficient to demonstrate Mr. Nuosci's unfitness to provide adequate care for A.C.M.'s mental and emotional health and development, particularly in light of Mr. Nuosci's deportation. Not only does his pervasive fraud constitute prima facie evidence of his unfitness, but the court could also consider it by itself as an additional ground for termination. ¶ 27 The juvenile court also properly relied upon Mr. Nuosci's history of violent behavior as a ground to terminate his rights. Utah Code section 78A-6-508(2)(f) allows the juvenile court to consider a parent's history of violent behavior as a factor supporting the termination of a parent's rights. The juvenile court specifically found that uncontroverted evidence showed that Mr. Nuosci was violent toward Ms. Sullivan and his former domestic partner, Lonnie James. Further, it noted that one of his Canadian convictions was for uttering threats. These findings also support termination of Mr. Nuosci's parental rights. ¶ 28 Because there are several proper grounds on which the juvenile court based its decision to terminate Mr. Nuosci's parental rights, we need not reach Mr. Nuosci's challenges to the juvenile court's other grounds for termination.