Delaware mom accused of selling baby to go to Disney World
Dave Warner
Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
Oct 05, 2011 14:36 EDT
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) – A Delaware mother of three has been charged with selling her infant son for $15,000 because she wanted money to go to Disney World, police said on Wednesday.
Bridget Wismer, 33, of Brookside Park, Delaware, sold her 1-month-old son, Christian, to a Philadelphia man, John Gavaghan, 54, said police in New Castle County, Delaware.
Wismer and Gavaghan, who knew one another through mutual friends, were both charged with conspiracy and dealing in children.
The child was in good condition when he was found in Gavaghan’s home, said Corporal John Weglarz Sr.
Christian is the youngest of Wismer’s three children.
“Bridget was trying to sell her child because she did not want the child and wanted to go to Disney World,” according to a police affidavit that quoted her relatives.
Gavaghan agreed to pay Wismer $15,000 in installments, but not all the money was actually paid, police said.
Wismer’s relatives tipped off New Castle detectives about her plan to sell the child.
With help from the Delaware State Police and the city of Philadelphia police, officers searched Gavaghan’s home in Philadelphia.
“After detectives conducted separate interviews involving both subjects, they were able to confirm that Gavaghan and Wismer were involved in the sale and purchase of the newborn,” a police statement said.
They were arrested last week and details of the crime were unveiled by police on Wednesday.
Gloria Hochman, spokeswoman for the National Adoption Center, said that the legal course action would have been for Wismer and Gavaghan to contact a registered social worker, an adoption agency or a lawyer experienced in adoption. It’s likely that a home study would have been ordered to make sure that Gavaghan’s home was suitable for a baby, she said.
(Editing by Barbara Goldberg and Jerry Norton)
Source: Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
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