C.A. 4th;
G053375

The Fourth Appellate District affirmed family court orders. The court held that a father's status as sperm donor did not preclude his being recognized as a presumed parent where he supported the child and held him out as his own.

Brian Cole and Mie Tsuchimoto began a sexual relationship in 2005. While the relationship was ongoing, Cole, who had had a vasectomy, agreed to the extraction and use of his sperm to inseminate Tsuchimoto. Cole was present in the delivery room when their son was born in February 2008, and selected the child's name. Cole thereafter continued to spend one or two nights per week at Tsuchimoto's residence until 2010, when he cut off all contact with Tsuchimoto and the child. During that time, although he never paid child support, he bought gifts for the child, occasionally bought groceries, and contributed about $500 per month to Tsuchimoto's expenses. He also identified himself to Tsuchimoto's family and friends as the child's father, did not publicly correct others who said he was the child's father, and did not stop the child from calling him “daddy.”