The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a U.S. Marine and his wife will retain custody of an Afghan orphan they brought to the United States, rejecting efforts to reunite the girl with relatives in Afghanistan and likely concluding a yearslong legal dispute over her future.

In 2020, a judge in Fluvanna County, Virginia, granted Joshua and Stephanie Mast an adoption of the child, who at the time was living roughly 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan with a family recognized by the Afghan government as her relatives.

In a decision signed by four justices, the state’s high court reversed rulings from two lower courts that had determined the adoption was so procedurally flawed that it was void from the outset.

The majority concluded that a Virginia statute finalizing adoption orders after six months prevents challenges to those orders, regardless of alleged defects in the proceedings — even if claims of fraud are raised.

Three justices dissented sharply, describing the case as “wrong,” “cancerous” and “like a house built on a rotten foundation,” signaling deep disagreement within the court over how the adoption was handled.

An attorney for the Masts declined to comment, citing a circuit court order restricting public discussion of the case. Lawyers representing the Afghan family said they were not prepared to issue a statement.