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Deputies: Tampa teen posted BABY FOR SALE ad

Erica Pitzi

5 months ago

Click here to see the ad.

UPDATE:

Carollwood, Florida -- It turns out the baby girl classified ad was posted by a Tampa teenager who is indeed a struggling single mom.

The craigslist.com ad posted Friday night featured an 18-month-old little girl, for sale.

The mother wrote she didn't have time to take care of the child, so she wanted to find her a good family and would even sign a bill of sale.

Craigslist.com took the ad down Saturday.

Then today, deputies say the teen walked into the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, worried she would get in trouble for the classified.

Deputies say the teen told them she is a single mother but she posted the ad as a joke, just to see if anyone would respond.

She said the picture is not of her child - she found it online.

Deputies are still looking into the case to see if the woman should face any consequences.

ORIGINAL STORY:

On the popular classifieds website, Craigslist.com. Annabelle, as she's named in the ad is an 18-month-old baby girl up for sale.

Bay area resident Natalya Watson first found the ad that was posted Friday night while she was shopping for baby toys for her own little ones.

"I came across an ad that said, "Brand new or hardly used," so I clicked on that and saw some lady trying to sell her child," said Watson.

The ad is written by a "single mom", it says, who's "barely 18-years-old." She writes how her career is "just kicking off", so she's looking for a family who can devote time to her daughter. She writes, she will even "sign a bill of sell."

"Why would you sell your daughter, I just can't imagine," said Watson. After the initial shock, Watson got worried about the child.

So, she sent an email to the site's legal services folks. They quickly replied saying they would review the posting and work with law enforcement.

"I think the Sheriff's and DCF needs to see if this is a good home for the child - to see if it was true," said Watson.

Watson hopes the ad is not real but as a mother, she is not willing to take the chance.

"God forbid, something happened to that little girl, I wouldn't want that on my shoulders knowing it's something I could have prevented."

Since Watson contacted the website, the ad has been taken down.

Click here to see the ad.

Erica Pitzi, 10 Connects Reporter

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