Man Puts Baby For Sale on Craigslist; Mom Didn't Pay Him Enough Attention

A 22-year-old New York man tried to sell on Craigslist the 2-month-old baby of a woman he dated for $100 – because, he said, the mother wasn't paying him enough attention, prosecutors said Monday.

Angry with the baby's mother, Paul Marquez posted an ad titled “baby for sale” and posed as the baby's parent, prosecutors said. Marquez’s posting said the baby loved to play and have fun but had asthma and was “really getting on my nerves,” according to The Associated Press.

Urgent: Should Obamacare be Repealed? Vote Here Now

“I don’t want her Please email me,” it read, authorities said.

Marquez was charged Thursday by Staten Island prosecutors with endangering the welfare of a child, harassment, and a social service violation of authority to place or board out children. He was being held in lieu of $1,000 bail. A call to his attorney wasn’t returned.

According to the criminal complaint, Marquez, who works as a stockperson at a Victoria’s Secret, admitted he posted the listing just to get back at the baby's mother. The two met online and had been out a few times, but he apparently was angry because she wouldn’t pay him enough attention, authorities said. He gave out the woman’s number “and offered her daughter for sale,” according to the criminal complaint. There was no indication he actually meant to sell the baby.

The mother called police after she received a phone call from a person offering to buy the baby, according to a criminal complaint. Staten Island investigators are looking into the request — it may have been out of concern and not an illegal attempt to purchase a child.

The posting was located in the Staten Island section of Craigslist under baby and kid stuff, for sale by owner. It was flagged and taken down at least once, but Marquez reposted it, authorities said.

If convicted, Marquez faces up to a year behind bars.

In May, a Texas woman placed a Craigslist ad offering up her 3-year-old son for adoption. She told police she was off her anxiety medication when she wrote the post and signed it "Desperate."

Editor's Note: Get the Navy SEALs Cap – Celebrate Our Heroes

Related stories:

Soldier Looks for His Dog Sold on Craigslist While He was Deployed