Denial of Visitation With Incarcerated Father Upheld

The Fourth Department affirmed Family Court’s denial of an incarcerated father’s petition for visitation with his children:

Although we recognize that the rebuttable presumption in favor of visitation applies when the parent seeking visitation is incarcerated…, we conclude that respondents rebutted the presumption by establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that visitation with petitioner would be harmful to the children …. A parent’s failure to seek visitation with a child for a prolonged period of time is a relevant factor when determining whether visitation is warranted…, and, here, petitioner has never met the daughter or the son.  In fact, before commencing these proceedings, petitioner did not seek visitation with either child.  Thus, petitioner is “essentially a stranger to the child[ren]”….  Matter of Brown v Terwilliger…, 576, 4th Dept 7-5-13