Gumtree baby seller gets suspended sentence
A 20-year-old woman was on Wednesday sentenced in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court for for trying to sell her 19-month-old child for R5 000 on Gumtree, the KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority said.
"She was sentenced to a period of five years imprisonment, which was wholly suspended, as well as correctional supervision,” said KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara.
Kara said the woman pleaded guilty to selling the child and receiving payment for the sale, thus commodifying the child, placing an advertisement for the sale of the child, and receiving proceeds from the unlawful activity.
She said the woman admitted that she had decided to sell the child when her boyfriend stopped paying child support after finding out that the child was not his.
"She placed the advert in September last year, selling the 19-month-old baby for R5 000. She received a response from a woman three days later.
"The woman told her that she wanted to buy the baby and they met at a fast food outlet in the Pietermaritzburg CBD. At the meeting, the accused received R5 000 and she handed the baby over to the unknown woman."
The mother was arrested as she left the food outlet, Kara said.