A Jerusalem man was indicted for aggravated fraud on Wednesday after attempting to sell his daughter to an undercover policeman.
According to the indictment, the 33-year-old man told a co-worker earlier this month that he wanted to sell his three-month-old daughter for 100,000 shekels ($25,600).
When police learned of the bizarre conversation, they had an undercover cop contact the man, whose name remains under gag order, under the guise of being interested in buying the baby.
The two reportedly met two weeks ago, and the defendant asked for a 5,000 shekel advance. He promised to sell the child within the next two weeks, after giving his wife a chance to say goodbye.
Sometime after the first meeting, the defendant also sent photos of the baby to the undercover officer.
At the final meeting last week, the defendant brought along the baby and as he handed it over to the policeman said, “Meet your new father.”
Both he and his wife were arrested after that meeting. Their baby has been placed in the custody of Jerusalem’s welfare authorities.
The man’s attorney claims he had no intention of going through with selling his daughter and that he acted out of financial desperation over his gambling debts.
