MONROVIA – A 26-year-old Liberian woman has been sent to jail for allegedly selling her five months old baby.
Harriette Castro and her accomplice only identified as Jerome were arrested on December 14, by the Liberia National Police after a complaint was filed by the father of the child, Mohammed Bah.
Police investigation established that the five-month-old baby, Safeyatu Bah, was sold to an unknown lady for US$60.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, Castro claimed she was lured into the act by co-defendant Jerome who told her that the buyer was willing to help take care of her baby.
She said because she had been suffering to take care of the child and meeting up with her needs, she consented.
Castro alleged the baby’s father had neglected his responsibilities towards the child, thereby, making life difficult for her.
According to her, she had had three abortions and couldn’t do any further though the child’s father had allegedly pressurized her to abort the pregnancy. She said, he refused to take on the responsibility of the child due to her refusal to abort.
“I didn’t sell my child; I was living in the ghetto with my child, so I gave her to one woman who said she was going to help me take care of the child,” she explained.
Castro and Jerome have both been charged with human trafficking and criminal facilitation. They are awaiting trial at the Monrovia Central Prison.
