Dad Tries To Give 3-Year-Old Son Away At Bus Station, Charged With Misdemeanor

Chicago, IL – An intoxicated father tried to give his preschool son away to strangers at a bus station, police say. Joseph Corter was believed to be under the influence when he asked several patrons if they would be willing to take his son. After several people declined to take the boy, Corter tried to leave the 3-year-old at the station and flee the scene. Security officers stopped him.

He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor child endangerment.

The 31-year-old father was arrested at the Chicago Greyhound station on Saturday. The boy was handed over to DCFS custody, and he was reported to be physically unharmed. Corter has been charged with misdemeanor child endangerment, a fairly low-level charge. DCFS says it will launch an investigation into possible child neglect.

The whereabouts of the child’s mother are unknown.

Some feel as though the punishment, in this case, does not fit the crime. The Stir writer Julie Ryan Evans admits that there is no report as to what will happen to the child after the incident; if it is a first offense, the boy will likely be returned to his father. “I imagine,” she writes, “if it’s a first offense there may be some classes or counseling required, but the boy will likely be back with his father before we can blink. Back with a man who tried to give him away. And I can’t help but thinking how wrong that might be.”

Do you think that this little boy should be returned to his father? Do you think the father’s misdemeanor sentencing was too lenient?