FL Woman Tries To Sell 18-Month-Old Daughter For $500: Police

PALATKA, FL — A 33-year-old Palatka woman is facing charges after she tried to sell her 18-month-old daughter for $500 last week, Palatka Police said Wednesday.

Police said Jessica Woods had been seen loitering near a business for a few days before finally being approached on March 5 by a staffer who asked if she and her child needed help.

After declining the assistance, police said she tried to sell her daughter to the staffer for $500. When the person refused to buy the young girl, police said Woods walked away from the scene and abandoned her daughter.

The staffer then picked up the child and took her to the police department, informing officers of the encounter, police said.

Officers and a victim advocate cared for the little girl before the Department of Children and Families took custody of her, police said, adding she is now in foster care.

Woods was arrested on March 7 and was charged on suspicion of child abuse, child neglect and abandonment of a child, police said. She remained Thursday in the Putnam County Jail, according to jail records.