A mother from Florida was taken into custody after supposedly trying to sell her 18-month-old daughter for $500 and then leaving the child behind when the offer was turned down.
Authorities in Palatka reported that the situation began on March 5 when a worker at a nearby company noticed Jessica Woods, 33, hanging around the area with her daughter for a few days. The worker approached them to offer assistance.
“Woods informed the citizens that she did not require anything but offered to sell her child to them for $500.00,” police stated. “When the citizens declined to buy the child, Woods walked away, leaving her daughter behind.”
The worker promptly took the child to the police, who contacted a victim advocate and arranged for the little girl to be placed in the care of the Department of Children and Families. The girl has since been put into foster care.
Woods was later arrested by the police on charges of child abuse, child neglect, and desertion of a child.
She is currently in custody with bonds totaling $255,000, as per jail records.
[Featured image: Jessica Woods/Putnam County Sheriff’s Office]