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| To amend section 3107.07 and to enact section | 1 |
| 3109.044 of the Revised Code to permit a victim of | 2 |
| rape, sexual battery, or unlawful sexual conduct, | 3 |
| or a parent of a minor who was the victim of a | 4 |
| felony violation of unlawful sexual conduct to | 5 |
| file a complaint to terminate specified parental | 6 |
| rights of the defendant with regard to a minor | 7 |
| conceived as a result of the offense, to require | 8 |
| the court to terminate the parental rights named | 9 |
| in the complaint if the court determines that the | 10 |
| defendant was convicted of or pleaded guilty to | 11 |
| the offense or determines beyond a reasonable | 12 |
| doubt that the defendant committed the offense, | 13 |
| and to prohibit a court from granting in any | 14 |
| subsequent civil action the defendant any of the | 15 |
| terminated parental rights. | 16 |
| Section 1. That section 3107.07 be amended and section | 17 |
| 3109.044 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows: | 18 |
| Sec. 3107.07. Consent to adoption is not required of any of | 19 |
| the following: | 20 |
| (A) A parent of a minor, when it is alleged in the adoption | 21 |
| petition and the court, after proper service of notice and | 22 |
| hearing, finds by clear and convincing evidence that the parent | 23 |
| has failed without justifiable cause to provide more than de | 24 |
| minimis contact with the minor or to provide for the maintenance | 25 |
| and support of the minor as required by law or judicial decree for | 26 |
| a period of at least one year immediately preceding either the | 27 |
| filing of the adoption petition or the placement of the minor in | 28 |
| the home of the petitioner. | 29 |
| (B) The putative father of a minor if either of the following | 30 |
| applies: | 31 |
| (1) The putative father fails to register as the minor's | 32 |
| putative father with the putative father registry established | 33 |
| under section 3107.062 of the Revised Code not later than thirty | 34 |
| days after the minor's birth; | 35 |
| (2) The court finds, after proper service of notice and | 36 |
| hearing, that any of the following are the case: | 37 |
| (a) The putative father is not the father of the minor; | 38 |
| (b) The putative father has willfully abandoned or failed to | 39 |
| care for and support the minor; | 40 |
| (c) The putative father has willfully abandoned the mother of | 41 |
| the minor during her pregnancy and up to the time of her surrender | 42 |
| of the minor, or the minor's placement in the home of the | 43 |
| petitioner, whichever occurs first. | 44 |
| (C) Except as provided in section 3107.071 of the Revised | 45 |
| Code, a parent who has entered into a voluntary permanent custody | 46 |
| surrender agreement under division (B) of section 5103.15 of the | 47 |
| Revised Code; | 48 |
| (D) A parent whose parental rights have been terminated by | 49 |
| order of a juvenile court under Chapter 2151. of the Revised Code; | 50 |
| (E) A parent who is married to the petitioner and supports | 51 |
| the adoption; | 52 |
| (F) The father, or putative father, of a minor if the minor | 53 |
| is conceived as the result of the commission of rape by the father | 54 |
| or putative father and the father or putative father is convicted | 55 |
| of or pleads guilty to the commission of that offense. As used in | 56 |
| this division, "rape" means a violation of section 2907.02 of the | 57 |
| Revised Code or a similar law of another state. | 58 |
| (G) A legal guardian or guardian ad litem of a parent | 59 |
| judicially declared incompetent in a separate court proceeding who | 60 |
| has failed to respond in writing to a request for consent, for a | 61 |
| period of thirty days, or who, after examination of the written | 62 |
| reasons for withholding consent, is found by the court to be | 63 |
| withholding consent unreasonably; | 64 |
| (H) Any legal guardian or lawful custodian of the person to | 65 |
| be adopted, other than a parent, who has failed to respond in | 66 |
| writing to a request for consent, for a period of thirty days, or | 67 |
| who, after examination of the written reasons for withholding | 68 |
| consent, is found by the court to be withholding consent | 69 |
| unreasonably; | 70 |
| (I) The spouse of the person to be adopted, if the failure of | 71 |
| the spouse to consent to the adoption is found by the court to be | 72 |
| by reason of prolonged unexplained absence, unavailability, | 73 |
| incapacity, or circumstances that make it impossible or | 74 |
| unreasonably difficult to obtain the consent or refusal of the | 75 |
| spouse; | 76 |
| (J) Any parent, legal guardian, or other lawful custodian in | 77 |
| a foreign country, if the person to be adopted has been released | 78 |
| for adoption pursuant to the laws of the country in which the | 79 |
| person resides and the release of such person is in a form that | 80 |
| satisfies the requirements of the immigration and naturalization | 81 |
| service of the United States department of justice for purposes of | 82 |
| immigration to the United States pursuant to section 101(b)(1)(F) | 83 |
| of the "Immigration and Nationality Act," 75 Stat. 650 (1961), 8 | 84 |
| U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)(F), as amended or reenacted. | 85 |
| (K) Except as provided in divisions (G) and (H) of this | 86 |
| section, a juvenile court, agency, or person given notice of the | 87 |
| petition pursuant to division (A)(1) of section 3107.11 of the | 88 |
| Revised Code that fails to file an objection to the petition | 89 |
| within fourteen days after proof is filed pursuant to division (B) | 90 |
| of that section that the notice was given; | 91 |
| (L) Any guardian, custodian, or other party who has temporary | 92 |
| custody of the child; | 93 |
| (M) A parent whose parental rights with regard to adoption | 94 |
| have been terminated by court order under section 3109.044 of the | 95 |
| Revised Code. | 96 |
| Sec. 3109.044. (A) As used in this section: | 97 |
| (1) "Court" means a juvenile or other court that has | 98 |
| jurisdiction in a case respecting the allocation of parental | 99 |
| rights for a minor. | 100 |
| (2) "Minor" means a person under eighteen years of age. | 101 |
| (B) The parent of a minor who was conceived as the result of | 102 |
| the commission of an offense in violation of section 2907.02 or | 103 |
| 2907.03 of the Revised Code may file a complaint with a court to | 104 |
| terminate any of the following parental rights with respect to | 105 |
| that minor of a person who has been convicted of or pleaded guilty | 106 |
| to the offense or who has been determined pursuant to division (E) | 107 |
| of this section to have committed the offense: | 108 |
| (1) Custody; | 109 |
| (2) Parenting time rights and visitation rights; | 110 |
| (3) The necessity, authority, or right to consent to the | 111 |
| minor's adoption. | 112 |
| (C) A parent of a minor child who conceives a child as the | 113 |
| result of the commission of an offense that is a felony violation | 114 |
| of section 2907.04 of the Revised Code may file a complaint with a | 115 |
| court to terminate any of the following parental rights with | 116 |
| respect to the child born to the minor child of a person who has | 117 |
| been convicted of or pleaded guilty to the offense or who has been | 118 |
| determined pursuant to division (E) of this section to have | 119 |
| committed the offense: | 120 |
| (1) Custody; | 121 |
| (2) Parenting time rights and visitation rights; | 122 |
| (3) The necessity, authority, or right to consent to the | 123 |
| adoption of the minor child's child. | 124 |
| (D) A person who is the parent of a minor child who was | 125 |
| conceived as a result of the commission of an offense that is a | 126 |
| misdemeanor violation of section 2907.04 of the Revised Code may | 127 |
| file on or after the parent's eighteenth birthday a complaint with | 128 |
| a court to terminate any of the following parental rights with | 129 |
| respect to that minor child of a person who has been convicted of | 130 |
| or pleaded guilty to the offense or who has been determined | 131 |
| pursuant to division (E) of this section to have committed the | 132 |
| offense: | 133 |
| (1) Custody; | 134 |
| (2) Parenting time rights or visitation rights; | 135 |
| (3) The necessity, authority, or right to consent to the | 136 |
| minor child's adoption. | 137 |
| (E) If a parent of a minor child files a complaint pursuant | 138 |
| to division (B) or (D) of this section that alleges that the minor | 139 |
| child was conceived as the result of the defendant's violation of | 140 |
| section 2907.02 or 2907.03 of the Revised Code or misdemeanor | 141 |
| violation of section 2907.04 of the Revised Code, or if a parent | 142 |
| of a minor child files a complaint pursuant to division (C) of | 143 |
| this section that alleges that the minor child of the parent's | 144 |
| minor child was conceived as the result of the defendant's felony | 145 |
| violation of section 2907.04 of the Revised Code, the court shall | 146 |
| determine if the defendant was convicted of or pleaded guilty to | 147 |
| the violation of section 2907.02, 2907.03, or 2907.04 of the | 148 |
| Revised Code that resulted in the child's conception. | 149 |
| If the defendant has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty | 150 |
| to the violation of section 2907.02, 2907.03, or 2907.04 of the | 151 |
| Revised Code that resulted in the child's conception, the court | 152 |
| shall hold a hearing to determine if the defendant committed the | 153 |
| violation that resulted in the child's conception. The plaintiff | 154 |
| shall have the burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the | 155 |
| defendant committed the violation. | 156 |
| The court, upon making a determination that the defendant was | 157 |
| convicted of, pleaded guilty to, or committed the violation of | 158 |
| section 2907.02, 2907.03, or 2907.04 of the Revised Code that | 159 |
| resulted in the conception of the minor named in the complaint, | 160 |
| shall order the termination of the defendant's parental rights | 161 |
| that are named in the complaint and that exist at the time of, or | 162 |
| may exist subsequent to, the court order. No court shall grant to | 163 |
| the defendant any parental rights that are terminated pursuant to | 164 |
| this section. | 165 |
| Section 2. That existing section 3107.07 of the Revised Code | 166 |
| is hereby repealed. | 167 |