A Black Diamond man accused of helping his ex-girlfriend sell her baby for money she allegedly used to fund a shopping spree and pay a traffic ticket pleaded guilty yesterday to attempted child selling.
Kenneth S. Slape, 35, faces a sentence of up to a year in jail for the gross misdemeanor charge. King County prosecutors will recommend a three-month term at his Feb. 14 sentencing, spokesman Dan Donohoe said.
Slape initially was charged with child selling, a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Charging papers say he agreed to help Virginia C. Ramsey sell her baby son in June 2001 after she had been complaining about the boy, then nearly 4 months old.
Ramsey, 28, told a Kent neighbor the baby was "getting on her nerves" and she couldn't handle him, charging papers say. The neighbor said Ramsey had just received an eviction notice and had to pay or move out.
Slape called his ex-wife, Tina B. Anderson of Kennewick, who agreed to take the baby and "give Ramsey some money to help her get on her feet," according to charging papers.
The three met at a Fred Meyer store in Covington where Anderson gave Ramsey an envelope full of $100 bills, charging papers say. Ramsey said she received $2,000 and that Slape told her she would get an additional $3,000 once the "adoption" was formalized, police said.
Prosecutors say she spent some of the cash to buy two Sony PlayStations, groceries and a VCR and spent some at a casino. Ramsey's 9-year-old son later told police his brother was adopted by "someone in Spokane that lives on a ranch," according to charging papers.
Anderson, 38, told detectives she consulted with lawyers before getting involved in the "adoption," and Ramsey claimed she gave up parental rights to her son, charging papers say.
The baby was taken into protective custody and examined at a hospital the next day. No serious medical problems were found, charging papers say, and the boy was placed in a foster home.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/134617149_babyseller17m.htmlOh well, as long as the money was well spent. I mean after all...she bought 2 play stations & a VCR! I guess she figured that was more important than the rent! What a cretin.
We live in a strange society.
Millionairs can spend tens of thousands of dollars to addopt children yet the mothers of these children by law can not receive a penny.
These laws are wrong. I understand the need to not encourage the selling of babies but at the same time so many unwanted babies are misstreated. Seems some way could be found to make it not worth having a baby just for the money while at the same time rewarding mothers who give up their babies for a better home.
I'm glad this mother had a good time with the money she received. She will never get to enjoy her child. She can only have so many in a lifetime. Why shouldn't she get paid? She did go through the pain to have a baby and the pain of giving it away.