Obamanomics: No charges against man accused of trying to trade baby, prosecutors say

Prosecutors say there was not enough evidence, but the mother was jailed.

Posted: August 8, 2012 - 1:27pm
Updated: August 9, 2012 - 6:03am

By Steve Patterson

Prosecutors won’t file criminal charges over a weekend incident in Orange Park where a baby might have been offered in a trade to pay for food.

After reviewing records from a police investigation, prosecutors didn’t find firm evidence a crime really had been attempted, State Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Jackelyn Barnard said Wednesday.

The baby was found safe with his mother in a Jacksonville hotel late Monday. The mother, Jaime Rathje, was jailed on separate charges of failing to appear for court and was released Tuesday on $3,307 bail, according to jail records.

A man had been recorded on hotel cameras going door-to-door with the baby at the Rodeway Inn in Orange Park, but he faces no charges, Barnard said. She declined to name the man.

The baby boy and a 4-year-old sibling remained with a foster family Wednesday while the state reviewed their home situation, said John Harrell, a state Department of Children and Families spokesman.