FlamingFox
June 19th, 2009, 01:21 PM
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Andrew McCullom
ALBANY, Ore.
The judge ruled in favor of 28-year-old Andrew McCullom, who was indicted April 8 on a charge of buying or selling a minor.
Summer Jensen, McCullom's sister-in-law, said she and her husband offered to adopt McCullom 's child months ago. At the time, McCullom was in jail and the baby's biological mother also liked the idea.
"We thought it was pretty much a done deal because we had talked about it previously," Jensen said.
When Jensen asked McCullom to sign over his parental rights in January, she said he demanded $60,000 in return.
"And I said, 'There's no way Andy. You know it's against the law,'" Jensen said. "And basically, he (said), 'My final request is $1,000 and a pickup truck.' At which point, I hung up and called authorities."
Police arrested McCullom on a charge of buying or selling a minor, but the prosecution's case fell apart Tuesday morning. McCullom's lawyer filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case because no law was broken.
Under Oregon law, it is illegal to buy or sell a human being. However, a human being is defined as someone who is born and alive. In this case, the person who was allegedly being offered was not yet born.
"It's basically a motion that says even if what you say is true, it's not a crime under the law," said Linn County deputy district attorney Marshall Wilde.
Prosecutors have sent the case to the State Court of Appeals for review. They hope the case leads to a new law.
Jensen, meanwhile, said she hasn't given up on adopting the baby girl, who was born last month.
"It doesn't make me feel good and I hope that something good comes from this," Jensen said. "And maybe some laws can be changed."
McCullom could not be reached for comment Thursday night. In a letter to the Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper in April, he said the couple came to him and offered $1,000 and the truck.
Source (http://www.kptv.com/news/19800653/detail.html?treets=ptl1&tid=26511298063813&tml=ptl1_9am&tmi=ptl1_9am_1_11000206192009&ts=H)
Andrew McCullom
ALBANY, Ore.
The judge ruled in favor of 28-year-old Andrew McCullom, who was indicted April 8 on a charge of buying or selling a minor.
Summer Jensen, McCullom's sister-in-law, said she and her husband offered to adopt McCullom 's child months ago. At the time, McCullom was in jail and the baby's biological mother also liked the idea.
"We thought it was pretty much a done deal because we had talked about it previously," Jensen said.
When Jensen asked McCullom to sign over his parental rights in January, she said he demanded $60,000 in return.
"And I said, 'There's no way Andy. You know it's against the law,'" Jensen said. "And basically, he (said), 'My final request is $1,000 and a pickup truck.' At which point, I hung up and called authorities."
Police arrested McCullom on a charge of buying or selling a minor, but the prosecution's case fell apart Tuesday morning. McCullom's lawyer filed a motion asking the judge to dismiss the case because no law was broken.
Under Oregon law, it is illegal to buy or sell a human being. However, a human being is defined as someone who is born and alive. In this case, the person who was allegedly being offered was not yet born.
"It's basically a motion that says even if what you say is true, it's not a crime under the law," said Linn County deputy district attorney Marshall Wilde.
Prosecutors have sent the case to the State Court of Appeals for review. They hope the case leads to a new law.
Jensen, meanwhile, said she hasn't given up on adopting the baby girl, who was born last month.
"It doesn't make me feel good and I hope that something good comes from this," Jensen said. "And maybe some laws can be changed."
McCullom could not be reached for comment Thursday night. In a letter to the Albany Democrat-Herald newspaper in April, he said the couple came to him and offered $1,000 and the truck.
Source (http://www.kptv.com/news/19800653/detail.html?treets=ptl1&tid=26511298063813&tml=ptl1_9am&tmi=ptl1_9am_1_11000206192009&ts=H)