Mom faces no charge for ad

The La Vista mother who submitted a plea for help for her baby in a Craigslist ad will not face criminal charges for placing the online ad, the Sarpy County attorney said Monday.

But the 22-year-old mother could face abuse or neglect charges from an investigation that began before the ad was posted, Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said. She also may end up losing custody of her 1½-year-old boy.

The parental rights case will be heard Monday in Sarpy County Juvenile Court. Allegations of abuse and neglect stem from a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services investigation that began in late April, Polikov said.

The ad, posted at 9:35 a.m. Friday on the Internet site, was a plea for help, Polikov said. The ad’s author wrote that she was a mother and drug addict in need of someone to help her and her son. It said: “he is adorable ... (He) deserves a mommy that is not addicted to Meth ... unfortunately I am!”

“I am scared ... I am desperate ... can anyone help me ... can anyone help (him)? PLEASE ... BEFORE I do something CRAZY!”

The ad was posted under the Omaha Craigslist “volunteers” section. The child was in protective custody by 5 p.m. Friday, Polikov said.

State health officials began investigating after someone complained that the baby had been left unattended in a vehicle in late April, the county attorney said. The mother was required to take a drug test and tested positive for methamphetamine use, he said.

Attorneys for the child, mother and father will represent their clients at the juvenile court case. If the baby is removed from the mother’s home, authorities would begin a strict plan with the goal of rehabilitating the mother and ultimately reuniting her with the child, Polikov said.

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