In re J.K. CA2/3

INTRODUCTION

James K, father of 9-year-old J. K., appeals from the orders of the juvenile court denying his petition for modification (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 388)1 and terminating his parental rights (§ 366.26). We affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

1. The section 300 petition In May 2009, when J. was four years old, her 22-year-old sister C. took her to the hospital to be examined after J. announced she did not want to return to James’s house because he put his “thingy in her mouth, booty . . . he attempted to put his penis in her vagina.” During this time, the child’s mother was hospitalized from a stroke that left her unable to speak2 and J. had been visiting C. The Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) detained J. and placed her with C. Early in the dependency, J. did not want to see James during visits, explaining she was still James’s “ ‘friend,’ ” but she would cease to be if he “ ‘does that again.’ ” James’s conduct during visits appeared to make J. “nervous,” “stiff,” and “rigid,” and the monitor was obliged to redirect his behavior. Unsolicited, J. volunteered to the children’s social worker that she liked visiting with James and loved him,…