Police: Bored teen placed child-selling ad

SANDPOINT, Idaho, April 28 (UPI) -- A Craigslist ad ostensibly placed on the Internet site by a father offering a 4-year-old boy for sale was the work of a bored Idaho teenager, police said.

The ad, which asked $5,000 for the boy, led to an investigation by police in Spokane, Wash. Craigslist took the ad down.

Eventually, police traced the computer used to place the ad to northern Idaho, The Spokane Spokesman-Review reported. Lt. Corey Coon of the Sandpoint, Idaho, police department, found the author, a home-schooled 17-year-old.

"He was home with nothing else to do," Coon said. "He thought it'd be funny."

Coon plans to report to the Bonner County prosecutor by Monday on possible criminal charges against the teenager.

The teen never realized what a rumpus his prank caused, Coon said. The story became international news.

The ad was placed using the name Rick Obelophy. In addition to concerns about child selling, the Spokane County sheriff's office was also worried about child abuse.

"He doesn't fuss very much but when he does he just screams for hours," the ad said.

"I usually just put him in his closet until he stops and that usually works."