Craigslist is a convenient site to go to for people who want to sell or buy things, or look for jobs. But what if the ad one sees is as shocking as a "baby for sale"?
A Tennessee couple tried just that-placed an ad on Craigslist to sell their 5-month-old baby for $3,000 dollars. The couple actually intended to hand out the baby to an interested buyer. Except that the buyer turned out to be an undercover agent. The couple will now face charges.
Elizabethton Police received a tip about a baby for sale on Friday. Immediately, the authorities set up a sting operation. An agent contacted Deanna Lynn Greer, 37, and John David Cain, 26, the couple selling the baby on Craigslist to express interest in buying the baby. The "sellers" and " buyer" agreed to meet at a Dollar General store nearby. The arrest was then made for the couple.
Green County Sheriff Pat Hankins said he never saw or handled a similar case in his 34 years on the job. He could not believe that they just " bought" a baby. He finds it heartbreaking. The warrant for the couple's arrest said that Greer and Cain did knowingly place the baby in serious danger by selling the child to an unknown person. It said that the act was "heinous, atrocious and cruel.”
The State's Department of Children Services has taken over custody of the baby, along with another child of the mother.
The couple was charged with child abuse, aggravated child neglect and offenses in connection with "Haley's Law". Haley's Law is a Tennessee statute named after a child who suffered severe injuries from being abused by her father and stepmother. Said law makes it a Class A Felony to abuse a child younger than 9 years old that would result to bodily injury to the child.
The bond for the couple was set at $150,000 each. Cain was also given an additional arrest warrant for being a fugitive from justice. It was not discussed by the authorities, however, if sites such as Craigslist has any responsibility or liability for accepting ads that are potentially criminal acts as a "baby for sale".
Terrible parents!