Who could have guessed this would have ended badly?
Facebook has helped cops catch a lot of dumb criminals lately. There was that one evil genius who taunted the police and gave away his location. Then there was the dude who took photos of himself burglarizing a journalist’s home (which he then posted on the victim’s son’s Facebook wall). Oh, and let’s not forget all the moron looters in Britain from earlier this year. And now there’s Bridget Wismer of Pennsylvania, who apparently announced she was selling her baby via the social network.
Wismer has been accused of selling her newborn son to a 54-year-old man named John F. Gavaghan. According to a court motion, Gavaghan is classily described as “allegedly a known seller of prescription medications and bookmaker at Delaware Park.”
Wismer gave birth to her son on August 31st, and the boy was reported addicted to opiates when he was born. As a result, he had to remain in the hospital after his mom was released. Meanwhile, Wismer apparently arranged to sell her child to Gavaghan for $15,000, along with an extra $2,000 for allowing Gavaghan to sign his name on the kid’s birth certificate. On September 4th, the woman left the hospital and went to a Philadelphia casino while Gavaghan stayed in the hospital with the child.
The two were arrested last weekend at the end of a month-long investigation. Each has been charged with felony dealing in children and conspiracy.
Authorities began investigating Wismer after she reportedly announced her plans to sell the boy on Facebook. Speaking to reporters, Wismer stated that she was an unemployed single mother of two children, that Gavaghan had given her money (though it wasn’t payment for adopting her child) and that she didn’t mean to do anything wrong or illegal: “I didn’t do anything wrong. There was nothing that was hidden, everything was out in the open.”
Wismer’s newborn child is currently staying with a foster family and her family will be allowed custody (or at least visitation rights) in the near future. Wismer, however, is under court order to not have contact with her son.
Source: Delaware Online and The Daily Mail
