Shocking: Woman who sold her baby for $60 , booked by police

A Liberian woman, 26, has been sentenced to prison for allegedly selling her five-month-old baby for $60.

Harriette Castro and her accomplice, only identified as Jerome, were apprehended by the Liberian National Police on December 14 following a complaint filed by the child's father, Mohammed Bah.

According to the police investigation, the five-month-old baby, Safeyatu Bah, was sold to an unknown lady for US$60.

In an interview with journalists, Castro claimed that co-defendant Jerome enticed her into the act by telling her that the buyer was willing to help her care for her baby.

She said she agreed because she had been struggling to care for the child and meet her own needs.

Castro claimed that the baby's father had ignored his responsibilities to the child, making things miserable for her.

She claimed she had three abortions and couldn't go any further, despite the fact that the child's father allegedly pressured her to abort the pregnancy. He refused to take on the responsibility of the child because she refused to abort, she claimed.

"I didn't sell my baby; I was living in the slum with my child, so I chose to give her to one woman who said she would help me care for the child," she described.

Castro and Jerome have been booked and charged with human trafficking and criminal conduct, respectively. They are being held at the Monrovia Central Prison, awaiting trial.