WILMINGTON, Del. -- A 34-year-old woman who tried to sell her infant son last summer for trip money to Disney World was sentenced Thursday to 18 months of intensive mental health probation.
During probation period, Bridget Wismer will be monitored, not allowed to consume alcohol or illegal drugs and have no contact with her child without permission from Family Court.
Wismer originally was scheduled to be sentenced along with 55-year-old John Gavaghan â€" the man to whom authorities say she tried to sell her weeks-old son for $15,000. That date quietly was switched after she was accepted into Mental Health Court, which had hearings set for Thursday, the Delaware Attorney General's Office said.
Wismer was charged in October with selling her baby, born Aug. 31, 2011, to Gavaghan, who has a criminal record. Gavaghan faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 at his sentencing Friday.
Wismer made national headlines when she was charged, even appearing on the Nov. 4 broadcast of the "Dr. Phil" syndicated television show to proclaim her innocence. She said the criminal charges against her were the result of a misunderstanding and that she thought the arrangements she made with Gavaghan were proper.
Wismer pleaded guilty but mentally ill in June, while Gavaghan, who was listed improperly as the child's father on the birth certificate, pleaded guilty to the same charge.
The child remains in the custody of the Delaware Division of Family Services.