Kristy Gaffney Fights For Child After 'Unknowingly' Signing Adoption Papers With Man She Met Online

A Pennsylvania woman is fighting for her child after she says the man she met online had her sign papers that turned over custody of their child to his wife.

Kristy Gaffney met her lover Emmitt Dippold on an online dating site, and the couple eventually developed a close relationship, NBC 10 Philadelphia reports.

When Gaffney became pregnant, Dippold presented her with papers that Gaffney says he explained would give him partial custody of the child.

Dippold had previously revealed that he didn't have children because his wife had trouble conceiving.

But when Dippold didn't return with their child one day, Gaffney told NBC 10 that he revealed that the documents were actually adoption papers giving Dippold and his wife -- to whom he was still married -- custody of the child.

Gaffney went to court to overturn the adoption, and the judge ruled in her favor. However, the couple plans to appeal the decision.

While Gaffney might have found herself at the center of an unexpected adoption case, her story is certainly not the first to take a sudden turn.

After raising five daughters, Anita Tedaldi adopted a baby boy to fulfill a dream of adopting a child.

However, 18 months into their time together, the mother gave back the child because she felt they weren't bonding.

Tedaldi said the decision was difficult, but the baby was later placed with another family.

In 2010, Torry Hansen also decided she didn't want her adopted son and sent the boy, who was 7 at the time, on a plane back to Russia with a note explaining he had psychological problems.

The adoption agency filed a child support suit against Hansen; The court date is set for March 27, 2012


Gaffney appeared on "TODAY" on Feb. 21 to share her story. Steven Silverman, Emmitt Dippold's lawyer, told NBC that the father doesn't want to bring the custody battle into the media spotlight.

"The document was signed in its entirety before two notaries, who have testified under oath in court that she signed the document," Silverman told the station.

"Emmitt Dippold has no interest in disparaging the birth mother. I'm here to make a plea to this women that it is not in the best interest of her daughter to create a media sensation about this baby."
Gaffney's 14-month-old daughter currently lives with the Dippolds.