Staten Island Man Accused Of Trying To Sell Baby On Craigslist For $100
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Staten Island man is accused of trying to sell a 2-month-old baby on Craigslist.
Paul Marquez, 23, posted an ad on the website twice late last month, offering a baby for sale for $100, law enforcement sources said.
The ad read, "I have a 2-month-old baby, she loves to play and have her little fun, but there's one problem, doctors say she has asthma and if she turns a certain way she can stop breathing. She's really getting on my nerves and I don't want her," WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
The child is the daughter of a 19-year-old woman Marquez had met online and dated a couple of times, Cornell reported.
S.I. Man Accused of Trying To Sell Baby On Craigslist
Prosecutors said Marquez posted the ads as an act of revenge because the woman didn't spend more time with him, Cornell reported.
S.I. Man Accused of Trying To Sell Baby On Craigslist
Marquez admitted that he "did all this to get back" at the child's mother, according to court papers.
According to court papers, the ad included images of the baby, and Marquez gave out the baby's mother's phone number.
He posted the ad not once, but twice, after Craigslist took it down the first time, authorities said.
The child's mother said at least one person called her and offered to buy the baby, according to court papers.
Marquez's family had no comment, but as 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported, young women at the Todt Hill Houses on Staten Island were appalled.
"I have a 5-year-old. He drives me crazy sometimes, but I don't want to sell him," said one woman named "Jessica."
Those close to Marquez said they were shocked to hear about the allegations against him.
"He's got his own child," one friend told CBS 2's Hazel Sanchez, "He's basically a doting father. He probably did it as a joke."
A neighbor said that the behavior seemed out of character.
"He's quiet, that's all I can say. He doesn't seem like that type of kid," James Scott said.
Marquez was arrested last Thursday and is being held on $1,000 bail.
He is charged with authority to place or board out children, harassment and endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanors, and faces up to a year in jail if convicted.
He is due back in court Tuesday.
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