Supreme Court denies appeal involving US Marine couple accused of stealing Afghan baby from family: ‘Acted admirably’
A custody battle spanning years.
An Afghan child at the center of an adoption case dispute won’t be returning to her relatives after the Supreme Court declined an appeal filed by her Afghan family on Monday. The child, whose parents were killed during a military operation in rural Afghanistan, has since been in the custody of a U.S. Marine, the Courthouse News Service reported.
The child, who is referred to as “Baby Doe” in court filings, became an orphan at two months old after her parents and five siblings were killed in September 2019 during the U.S. military and Afghan forces’ raid on a rural compound. Baby Doe was found in the rubble and brought to Bagram Airfield near Kabul, where she received treatment, according to the Associated Press.
U.S. Marine attorney Joshua Mast and his wife Stephanie wanted to adopt Baby Doe. However, the government located her surviving relatives, and she was placed in the custody of a cousin and his wife. The Afghan couple was in custody of Baby Doe for 18 months, but at the same time, Mast and his wife obtained an adoption order from the Virginia court without informing the relatives.
Supreme Court says adoption order can’t be contested
In 2021, Mast had the couple and Baby Doe transported to the U.S. during the military’s exit from Afghanistan. When they arrived, Mast reportedly presented Baby Doe’s Afghan passport, listing his surname as hers. Mast then placed the family at a refugee settlement center, but took Baby Doe to live with him despite her relatives’ protests.
The Afghan couple took the case to court and requested a dismissal of the adoption, accusing Mast and his wife of stealing the young child and failing to inform them of the adoption, giving them no opportunity to contest the custody order. Mast and his wife, however, insisted that they were Baby Doe’s legal parents and “acted admirably” to safeguard the young child and give her a proper home.
In July 2024, the lower court of Virginia sided with the Afghan couple and voided the adoption order when it was found that Mast had misrepresented facts to the Fluvanna County Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. Mast reportedly testified that the search for Baby Doe’s next of kin was unsuccessful and that she needed immediate medical attention, despite being aware that she had Afghan relatives. He also reportedly tried to file a restraining order to stop Baby Doe’s transfer to her relatives in early 2020, which was unsuccessful.
The Supreme Court, however, upheld the adoption, ruling that final adoption orders could not be contested after six months. Mast and his wife also argued that reopening Baby Doe’s case would be disruptive to the child’s life. Baby Doe, who is now seven years old, had been living with the Masts for years, they added.
“Every so often, a case comes along requiring this court’s intervention to correct an egregious miscarriage of justice and to uphold the basic fairness and integrity of the American rule of law,” Baby Doe’s relatives said. “This is such a case.”
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