Karl SmallmanA MOTHER who tried to sell her unborn baby to a married couple with fertility problems has been jailed for two years.
Homeless Mercedes BG arranged to give her son, now 18 months of age, to Juana FC and Rafael AS in exchange for financial help, judges in Motril heard.
The married couple, who were also jailed for a year, first approached pregnant Mercedes BG in Motril in December 2004 with the offer to buy the unborn child. The court heard how the couple had fertility problems and wanted to avoid the often lengthy legal adoption process.
A deal was made for Juana FC and Rafael AS to pay for Mercedes BG’s pregnancy expenses and for her to live with the married couple after the birth. The married couple then told family and neighbours they were expecting a baby, due in May 2005.
At the time of the birth, Mercedes BG and Rafael AS went to the maternity hospital in Granada for the delivery. There the pregnant Mercedes duped hospital staff, telling them her name was Juana FC.
After the birth, the married couple took the boy to their home in Motril. They passed the child off as their own for six months before the illegal adoption was finally discovered in December 2005.
The child is now in the care of the Junta de Andalucía regional government and Juana FC and Rafael AS have also been barred from adopting a child for four years.
