'Baby' for sale on Craigslist
Under the "For Sale" category on Craigslist, there is a sub-category of "baby+kids." But rarely has a living baby been offered for sale.
Until now.
Fairfax County police are investigating a posting from Friday listing "a 2-month-old female for sale," which was promptly taken down by Craigslist administrators. No one has been charged, and there is some good news amid this seeming latest step in the devolution of the species:
1) Several Craigslist readers immediately called Fairfax police on Friday after seeing the listing, as did one in West Virginia, and
2) There appears to be no actual baby involved.
The listing in question offered the following pitch, according to a search warrant affidavit written Friday night by Fairfax Detective Michelle DuBois:
"we had a kid but we just can't handle it right now in our lives. she is up to date on her vaccinations medical records will be provided. we have been calling her Juliet but you can rename her if you want. sorry if you think this is wrong but we think the best way of insuring a happy life for her is to give her to an affluent couple that wants to have kids enogh [sic] to pay for it. pics on request."
Fairfax police quickly contacted Craigslist and tracked the Internet protocol address to a house on Happy Heart Lane (seriously) in Annandale. On Friday night, police entered the Happy Heart residence and seized a number of computers, data storage devices and an Xbox game console, court records show.
Police found no baby and no indications of a baby, Fairfax Officer Bud Walker said. But the investigation is continuing because Virginia's adoption law prohibits anyone from accepting any money for the placement of a child, and "No person shall advertise or solicit to perform any activity prohibited" by the law. Walker said police did not suspect a scam was behind the posting, but he declined to speculate on the motive.
By
Tom Jackman
| January 10, 2011; 4:40 PM ET
Categories:
Fairfax, Tom Jackman
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Keeping safe on Geebo and other classifieds sites:
It is important that you know how to keep yourself and your loved ones safe when using online classified advertising sites. Here are a few reminders:
When selling, do not put your home address in your ad.
To avoid scams, buy and sell with people you can meet locally, in person.
When meeting with someone you don't know, meet in a public place. If that's not possible, have a buddy with you. Also, carry a cell phone; if you feel unsafe, you can call a trusted friend, and stay on the line.
Never give out financial or private information like account numbers, PayPal login, or social security number.
If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is. Walk away!
When choosing a classifieds site:
Use only sites where ads are reviewed before they go live on the site rather than relying a flagging or rating system that leaves users vulnerable in the mean time.
Use sites that do not carry adult ads. Not only do these present risks to our children, but they can harbor human trafficking activities that harm people and open the door to other criminal activity.
If you are unsure about the safety of a particular classifieds site, do your own quick research. Type the site's name into Google News or Yahoo! News. Are the results filled with news stories about crime? Then stay away. This is a case where no news is good news!
Posted by: greg58 | January 10, 2011 5:25 PM | Report abuse
More women need to be sterilized.
Posted by: TaxiDriver | January 10, 2011 5:54 PM | Report abuse
I guess people did the right thing by calling police -- but did they really think this was anything other than a joke?
Posted by: darrren12000 | January 10, 2011 9:10 PM | Report abuse
Happy Heart Lane....that's hilarious!
Posted by: changingfaces | January 10, 2011 9:14 PM | Report abuse
Nice piece of misogyny TaxiDriver. Perhaps you didn't notice the ad said "WE had a kid".
You have no way of knowing the gender of anyone involved.
Maybe more men need to be sterilized (hint, hint).
Posted by: rockchalk | January 10, 2011 10:38 PM | Report abuse
This is actually pretty funny, as long as you know there's no actual baby involved: "we just can't handle it right now in our lives" "up to date on her vaccinations" "pics on request"
Posted by: Sarpedon | January 10, 2011 11:28 PM | Report abuse
Sounds like a parody of the "we had a baby and now want to get rid of our pet" posts that are so abundant in the pet section of CL. It really is pathetic that people can't be bothered to plan ahead when deciding to get a pet and consider that you might also procreate in the near future, and if so should be compentent to care for both children and pets simultaneously (it can be done)...
Posted by: SmeeAndMe | January 11, 2011 10:43 AM | Report abuse
"we had a kid but we just can't handle it right now in our lives.".....
maybe they meant a baby goat
ummm...pit roasted cabrito, plantains, black beans and a cold dos equis...
Posted by: overed | January 11, 2011 11:03 AM | Report abuse
More men DO need to be sterilized. Darn right. Super Studs having babies with multiple clueless, naive, silly girls/women.
Condoms? What are those? These playas have no idea what they are or where to buy them.
Then the stupid teenage girl is left crying & literally holding the baby when The World's Greatest Playa disappears.
We have enough unwanted babies. We don't need any more. Agreed? Or are you going to adopt them? Maybe the Pope will.
Catholic Church always going on about birth control & contraception like it's the Devil's work.
Gimme a break. BIRTH CONTROL, people!!!
Posted by: TaxiDriver | January 11, 2011 11:10 AM | Report abuse
They'd get a better price on eBay.
Posted by: dottie_b | January 11, 2011 12:49 PM | Report abuse
Typical, they found multiple computers and an X-box-bet there was a huge plasma TV there as well. Priorities are screaming here.
Posted by: stopthemadness | January 11, 2011 2:42 PM | Report abuse
Maybe they changed their mind and decided to instead rent out their kid.
Posted by: localgoober | January 11, 2011 5:43 PM | Report abuse
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