Stamford Woman, Husband Charged with Smuggling Baby

A Stamford woman and her husband, from Fairfield, where charged Thursday with conspiring to smuggle an infant to the United States from Guatemala, authorities announced just before noon. 

Maria Gonzalez, 42, and Henry Fernando Lopez, 36, were charged in in a federal criminal complaint by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Connecticut. 

Gonzalez, an Argentinian citizen, is a lawful permanent resident of the U.S., according to the Attorney's Office, but also faces fraudulent passport charges. 

Gonzalez allegedly traveld to Guatamala in March 2009 and met with a pregnant teen. The birth mother, then 14, agreed to give the couple her child if the couple paid for the medical bills and some additional costs. 

The child was born on April 18, 2009, and given to the couple, the Attorney's Office said.Gonzales also visited the U.S. Embassy in Guatamala City and allegedly attempted to obtain travel documents for the child, but was unable to do so as she had none of the appropriate medical documentation demonstrating she was the birth mother. 

She eventually obtained fraudulent documents from an individual in Guatamala using a photo of the baby and the child's birth date in exchange for $6,000, the complaint alleged. She then entered the U.S. via the Port of San Ysidro in California on July 14, 2009, the Attorney's Office said. 

Gonzalez and Lopez face charges of bringing into the U.S. and harboring an alien child. Gonzalez additionally faces a charge of misuse of a U.S. passport, and forgery or false use of a passport. Gonzalez appeared in court in Bridgeport April 16, 2013, and was released on a $100,000 bond.  Lopez is still being sought by authorities.

If convicted, Lopez faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Gonzalez faces 20 years if convicted.

The child has been in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Children and Families since October 2012.