In re Le.P. CA2/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Consistent with our standard of review, we state the facts in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s findings, drawing all reasonable inferences to uphold the court’s order. (In re I.J. (2013) 56 Cal.4th 766, 773 (I.J.).) Father and mother met in high school.1 Mother gave birth to Le.P. in 2009 and to Le.P.’s sister La.P. in 2010. The parents are separated. The children live with mother, their stepfather, and a five-year-old half sibling (mother’s and stepfather’s child). Mother reported father was “very controlling.” In 2012, he became violent. She also said father was part of a “spiritual cult,” and he had wanted to move the family to Mexico to follow his religious beliefs. Mother refused to uproot the children, and father left for Mexico alone. While he was away, mother obtained a restraining order that restricted father’s contact with the girls to monitored visits. After father returned to the United States in 2014, he completed a domestic violence course, and was granted unmonitored overnight visits with the children every other Friday to Sunday. In March 2022, the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services…