No Charge in Baby-Sale Hoax

Orange County prosecutors will not charge a man who tried to cover up his girlfriend’s pregnancy by claiming to have purchased a newborn boy from a man who wanted $10 for drugs, police said Tuesday.

Robert Garcia, 18, of Tustin, concocted the story as a way to make sure the child received the proper care, without having to reveal that his girlfriend had had a baby, said Tustin Police Lt. Chuck Crane.

“I really don’t think there was any criminal intent,” Crane said. “They were scared kids who panicked, but they wanted to do the right thing. They could have tossed the kid in a dump, or a trash can, but they didn’t.”

The prosecutor handling the case did not return a phone call seeking comment.

The baby’s mother, a 17-year-old whose name has not been released, gave birth in her bedroom on Jan. 24. The girl hid her pregnancy by wearing large clothing and telling family and friends she was gaining weight.

Shortly after the birth, Garcia took the child to a local church for help. Garcia told officials a drug addict offered him the baby in exchange for drugs, but Garcia said he gave the man $10 and took the child to safety.

The story was widely publicized, and Garcia retracted his statements after he began feeling guilty that he was regaled as a hero for saving the child, police said.

Although the couple feared their families’ outrage over the pregnancy, they have since received support, officials said.

The child has been placed in the custody of Garcia’s mother, said Karen Winter, a supervisor for the county Department of Social Services.