Mother
Treated her Baby as 'A Commodity'
By Wesley Johnson,
PA News May 21, 2004
Moira Greenslade
treated an innocent baby as
“little more than a commodity,
purely for financial gain”,
police said today.
Detective Chief Inspector Mick
Hopwood, of West Yorkshire
Police’s child and public
protection unit, said: “This is
a very sad case.”
Greenslade, 33, from Keighley,
West Yorks, offered to give up
her child to two couples she
contacted through a surrogacy
website.
She was jailed for two years
today at Leeds Crown Court after
earlier pleading guilty to three
charges of obtaining money by
deception and three offences
under the Adoption Act.
Mr Hopwood said: “People who
were desperate for children were
taken advantage of and an
innocent baby, who had no choice
in the matter, was treated as
little more than a commodity,
purely for financial gain.
“It is quite right that a jail
sentence has been imposed.”
He said the activities of Moira
Greenslade first came to light
in late November 2003 when the
Robinson-Hudson family contacted
their local police and
complained that despite handing
over £1,500 to Moira Greenslade
to adopt her unborn baby she had
cancelled the agreement.
Officers started an
investigation and found that she
was due to have an elective
caesarean birth at the Airedale
General Hospital in West
Yorkshire on December 2, 2003.
Mr Hopwood said the hospital had
been told the intended parents
were to be the Johnson family
from Scotland and that they had
chosen to be present at the
birth.
The hospital authorities told
police they were aware that
Greenslade had the previous year
given birth to a baby as a
surrogate mother and there was
nothing for them to suspect that
the arrangement with the Johnson
family was untoward.
Mr Hopwood said the Johnson
family attended Airedale
Hospital on December 2 but
Greenslade failed to turn up.
Police officers spoke to the
Johnson family and the details
of their arrangement with
Greenslade were taken. They had
agreed to pay her £9,000 for
expenses and had actually paid
£4,000, Mr Hopwood said.
On that same date police
officers executed a search
warrant at Greenslade’s home
address and recovered her
computer. This was examined and
revealed that Moira Greenslade
had been making arrangements
with the Robinson-Hudson family,
the Johnson family and a family
in Southampton called Rashley.
There was also evidence of
families from America and
elsewhere negotiating to adopt
the baby, Mr Hopwood said.
Evidence from the computer led
the police to believe that
Greenslade had made firm
arrangements to hand over the
baby on birth to the Rashley
family and following enquiries
to trace her she was discovered
to have attended the Southampton
Princess Anne hospital for a
caesarean birth.
The Rashley family were also
present.
Working with colleagues from
Social Services and Hampshire
Police Child Protection Unit,
West Yorkshire Police took steps
to take the newly born child
into protective care through the
use of a Police Protection
Order.
Greenslade was technically
arrested and immediately bailed
to appear back in West Yorkshire
where she was later interviewed
and charged with the offences
for which she later appeared at
Court.
Detective Chief Inspector
Hopwood said today: “The enquiry
was an unusual one and the
legislation around this type of
activity is weak.
“The offences associated with
this act are summary only and
officers and CPS finally and
reluctantly agreed a range of
charges within the Theft Act.
“Moira Greenslade herself
co-operated fully with the
investigation and provided an
open account of her actions.
“Her explanation for committing
the offences fell between a
motivation to help childless
couples and a personal
motivation to make money.
“The circumstances of the
previous surrogacy agreement
made in 2002 do not give rise to
any suggestion that this was an
illegal arrangement and so far
as the police and Social
Services are concerned that
matter is finalised.”
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