Online auction baby is back with his parents

2008-7-4  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A BABY boy removed from his parents after they offered to sell him on eBay for a euro (US$1.59) as a joke is back at home, a prosecutor in Bavaria, Germany, said yesterday.

"The child has been returned to his parents," prosecutor Johannes Kreuzpointer said.

The parents maintained that the posting was just a joke gone awry. Investigators agreed, dropping their investigation into possible child trafficking.

"Offering my nearly new baby for sale, as it has gotten too loud. It is a male baby, nearly 28 inches (70cm) long and can be used either in a baby carrier or a stroller," read the original ad that ran on May 24. No bids were received in the two hours and 30 minutes the ad was online before it was taken down.

The 23-year-old mother and 24-year-old-father have not been identified. Otto Gaschler, deputy chief of youth services in Unterallgau, where the parents live, said the family wasn't split up for too long.

"The parents always had contact to their son. They even slept there," he said of the facility where the boy was kept in custody during the investigation.

He did not know exactly how long the baby was away from home but said it was for several days.

Gaschler said a social worker was looking in on the reunited family.

"The parents saw the bid as a joke," Gaschler said. "It was like a game for them.

"They never thought that this stupid joke could have such an effect."