Nov 15, 2005 4:43 pm US/Pacific
Mother Who Allegedly Offered Child For Sex Freed
MARTINEZ (CBS 5 / AP) ―
Prosecutors decided not to charge a woman who allegedly agreed to sell her 4-year-old daughter for sex over the Internet.
The Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office sent the case against Shannon Nicole Woods, 22, back to the Martinez Police Department on Monday, saying there was not enough evidence to prosecute the woman.
Woods, who was arrested last week on suspicion of offering a minor under 16 for lewd and lascivious acts, was subsequently released from custody.
Martinez Mom Allegedly Offers Daughter, 4, For Sex
Police said they have e-mail and online chat records indicating that Woods was willing to offer her daughter in exchange for money, but that an investigation of a confiscated laptop computer has not been completed.
Authorities said a man who knew Woods recognized her photograph in a posting on Craigslist.org soliciting men for prostitution and contacted her posing as a potential client.
In online conversations through e-mail and chat rooms, Woods allegedly agreed to meet for sex. When the man offered $500 to have sex with her daughter, she didn't object to it, police said. The man, who never met with Woods, contacted the National Center for Exploited and Missing Children.
The girl and Woods' infant son have been placed in protective custody.
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark said his staff can't monitor every posting on the site, and relies on users to notify them about illegal postings.
Meanwhile, a 20-year-old San Francisco woman is facing pimping and prostitution charges after authorities said she offered to sell the sexual services of a 14-year-old runaway girl also via a posting on Craigslist.
South San Francisco police said Monday they arrested Tykia Conway after investigators responded to an ad featuring a picture of the juvenile and an offer of $200 for an hour of her time.
Investigators arrested Conway after arranging to meet at a local motel.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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