A South Carolina man became a father more than seven years ago, and he had big dreams for his little girl. Aiken County’s Christopher Emanuel said in an interview with WACH-TV that he always wanted to be a great father. When his little girl was born, the baby’s mom and Christopher weren’t married. However, he signed up with an organization called Fatherhood Registry through the South Caroline Department of Social Services. This allowed him to be notified if his little girl ever was put up for adoption. Pat Littlejohn is the president of the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, and he explained.
Littlejohn said that before a parent’s rights are terminated to allow an adoption to process, the department of social services and attorneys will check the registry to see if a father’s name is on there. In the case that he is, the father is required by law to be notified. Christopher did everything he was supposed to do. Nevertheless, his little girl was adopted on February 19th of that year, without him knowing. He was never even notified and given the chance to be a father to his little girl. Christopher describes himself as “lost” and “hurt” during that time, as well as being confused.
He worried he would never see his little girl again, and that would have happened had he not been so completely tenacious. The reason Christopher’s little girl slipped through the system is because of a loophole in the law that allows for children born under “unusual or exceptional circumstances” to be adopted by people living in another state. Because the little girl, Skyler, is biracial, she technically fell into this category, which is archaic. Christopher promptly got his lawyers in gear and they did what they had to do to get her back. The adoptive couple even changed the little girl’s name even though Christopher has medical documentation that says she was another name. In fact, he’s even listed as the biological father on the adoption paperwork, and his legal rights were illegally terminated.
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It took a year, but he finally got his baby back. Watch the video below for more on this remarkable story.
