Teen held for kidnapping baby
2008-07-11 14:01
Volksrust - A 17-year-old girl has appeared in court on charges of kidnapping a two-month-old baby boy.
The teenager was not asked to plead to kidnapping when she appeared in Volksrust Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
She is accused of going to the baby's mother's house on the morning of July 6 and convincing the mother that the baby's father had asked her to fetch the child, said Mpumalanga police spokesperson Superintendent Abie Khoabane.
"The mother believed her because she lived in the same area, and packed extra milk and clothes for the baby," said Khoabane.
When the baby wasn't returned by 17:00, the mother became worried and phoned the baby's father, who denied he'd sent anyone to fetch the boy.
The mother immediately reported the case to the Volksrust police and the teenager was arrested on Wednesday at her boyfriend's house in Tsakane, Gauteng.
The baby was found unharmed.
The teenager allegedly told police that she had told her boyfriend she was pregnant and kidnapped the baby and pretended it was hers.
She was remanded in custody until July 14.