Teenagers Kidnap Babies Through Fake Facebook Page Offering Free Designer Clothes
#1 Murder mystery actress Codie Farrar, 17,
visited a mum at home and tried to take her baby away for a "medical assessment" while childless pal Holly Helland, 18, had a fully-equipped nursery
#3 Murder mystery actress Farrar then visited the woman at her home,
posing as a social worker, in September 2015, and asked to take the baby away for a half-hour "medical assessment".
However, the mother became suspicious when she saw the would-be kidnapper holding the baby's head incorrectly, and raised the alarm.
#4 Prosecutor Alma's Ben-Aribia said:
"On September 21 the mother called the police to report she had a two-week-old baby and a young woman had come in to her house pretending to be a social worker.
"Codie said 'I'm a social worker and you signed something for your baby to have a medical assessment'.
#4 "Codie went on to ask how old the baby was, he was two-weeks-old, and she replied 'he is beautiful'.
"Codie then asked 'do you love him?' She said that she needed the mum to let her have the baby so she could go away and take him for a medical assessment for 30 minutes.
#5 Holly Kelland, 18, and 17-year-old Codie Farrar,
tried to dupe parents into giving away their contact details and tricked one mother into handing out her home address.
#6 The mum refused to do so and Codie became increasingly nervous and left the address.
The mum informed her mother and social services were called and confirmed this was a not a bona fide visit.
#7 The day before this the mum had received a Facebook message from the fake account
..and had been offered some baby socks and it said she had won a raffle where the prize was £100 of in baby clothes or a Segway board.
"She admitted she had given out her address for these items to be posted out to her."
#8 Two teenagers have been sentenced to 12 months behind bars.
The court heard the mother of Baby S, who lives in Wolverhampton, was also messaged by the fake Facebook account at around the same time.
#9 Both schoolfriends had already admitted conspiracy to kidnap three babies,
identified only as U, S and W, and were at Derby Youth Court on Friday to be sentenced.
#10 District Judge Jonathan Taaffe was told Kelland had been the architect of what was described as a "detailed" scheme by the girl's own solicitor,
and had then recruited her "misguided" fellow plotter.
#11 She lied to her own mother about carrying a child, and had a fully-equipped nursery with a cot at her home, the court was told.
Kelland had been faking a pregnancy and suffering from undiagnosed mental health issues during the time of the offences, according to her solicitor Elaine Stapleton.
#12 In a series of text message exchanges, discovered on devices seized by police after both girls' arrest, Kelland had told her co-conspirator:
"Don't feel like baby chasing today."
Later, she said: "Did you bin the SIM (card)?"
#13 Sentencing, Judge Taaffe told them: "By its very nature this is a case of extreme seriousness."
He said: "A plan was hatched to kidnap a baby and not followed through, and fortunately it was only the alertness of the mother (of U) that prevented the actual kidnap taking place.
"It was not a momentary decision but a prolonged period of action which involved setting up of a fake Facebook account to obtain details of new-born babies and families' details.
#14 "It involved travelling to areas far away from home, and masquerading as a social worker.
"The baby was held by Codie, who was pretending to be a health care professional, and the distress caused to the babies and their mothers should not be underestimated."
#15 The judge added he had "reservations" about Kelland's motive being down to a mental health issue.
He said: "I have reservations about that motive as such a reason when they, in my view, usually lead to impulsive actions rather than planned, and in many ways sophisticated actions in this case."
#16 Judge Taaffe added:
"It is an accepted fact that Holly recruited Codie, but on the other hand Codie, as a murder mystery actress,impersonated a social worker in going to the mother's house and that's a particularly aggravating feature in this case."
#17 He concluded: "I'd be failing in my public duty if a custodial sentence was not imposed.
#18 This is a very serious set of circumstances that involved planning and sophistication, to take new-born babies from home addresses,
that can only in my view be dealt with by the imposition of immediate custodial sentences.
