A 73-year-old man has been arrested in Louisiana after he allegedly tried to buy a 10-month-old girl at a local auction.
Authorities say Howell Gene Penton was taken into custody in Angie on 29 November following a police investigation into an incident that reportedly occurred several days earlier.
According to the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office, detectives from the special investigations unit, working alongside the Angie Police Department, opened an inquiry on 26 November into a reported attempt to purchase a minor.
During the investigation, officers learned that Penton had allegedly approached a woman at the Angie Auction House and offered to buy her infant daughter.
Following an undercover operation, law enforcement secured an arrest warrant for Penton, who was then arrested without incident.
Officials have not yet released further information about what led up to Penton’s alleged approach to the woman.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the owners of the Angie Auction House are said to be fully cooperating with authorities, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Independent has reached out to the Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office for additional details about the case.
