No time behind bars for woman caught with stolen 5-week-old baby

Anneisha Ramsay, who had previously pleaded guilty to child stealing five-week-old baby 5 years ago after allegedly agreeing to adopt the infant for $500,000, was this afternoon given a two-year suspended sentence.

In handing down the sentence, Justice Leighton Pusey said that while the court must balance the circumstances of both the mother and the defendant and send a clear message that the offence is very serious, a non-custodial sentence was appropriate in this case.

The judge stated that he took into consideration there was no evidence that Ramsay was directly involved in the theft of the baby, her good antecedents, and the positive social inquiry report. He also noted that she had lost a child and was in a "dark place" at the time.

Baby Nyyear Frank was snatched while his mother was walking with him along Rousseau Road in St Andrew on the afternoon of October 13, 2019. The mother was reportedly forced into a vehicle with her baby by men who later took the infant and released her.

On January 22, 2020, the baby was found in Ramsay's care at a house in Hopewell, St. Andrew. She was arrested and charged.

Court documents indicate that Ramsay had allegedly been in contact with the individual who gave her the baby before Nyyear was abducted.

Ramsay has maintained that she never knew the baby was stolen when she agreed to adopt the child.

Ramsay stated that she had earlier lost her own baby and, while going through depression, a friend told her that he knew someone in the adoption business and could get her a baby. According to Ramsay, she could not make the payment and was told that a payment plan could be arranged.

Ramsay, who claimed she could not come up with any of the money, said she asked her friend to come back for the baby several times, but he told her the baby's mother did not want the child back.

Ramsay said that after she became suspicious, her friend blocked her, and she did not know what to do.

Attorney-at-law Kayon Atkinson represented Ramsay.

- Tanesha Mundle

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