Man in trouble over Craigslist ad with baby for sale

Summary

The Craigslist ad appeared on the Web site on Monday and someone contacted police. The ad was an offer to sell a baby for $1,000 and the message said the person needed the money because they were out of 'tweak.'

Story Published: Mar 26, 2008 at 7:16 PM PDT

Story Updated: Mar 27, 2008 at 7:09 AM PDT

Man in trouble over Craigslist ad with baby for sale

SALEM, Ore. - A Dallas man was arrested Wednesday afternoon in connection with a Craigslist ad that advertised a baby for sale.

Patrick Lee Ryan, 33, faces charges of buying or selling a child, disorderly conduct and committing a computer crime. He is being held on $35,000 bail.

The Craigslist ad appeared on the Web site on Monday and someone contacted police to report it.

The ad was an offer to sell a baby for $1,000 and the message said the person needed the money because they were out of 'tweak.'

Craigslist immediately took the ad down when contacted by police. A woman's name appeared as a contact on the ad, but police discovered she was not involved.

Although posting a fake advertisement on Craigslist might appear to be nothing more than a prank, in this case it was a big deal. You see, it is a felony in the state of Oregon to advertise a baby for sale.

While police now believe the posting was a hoax, a detective did spend two days trying to track down the baby shown in the posting and the person responsible for posting the advertisement. They said they had to assume the baby was real and was in real danger.

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