A Florida woman was arrested last week after allegedly trying to sell her toddler before abandoning the child.
The woman, who the Palatka Police Department identified as Jessica Woods, 33, was charged with child neglect and abandonment, selling or surrendering a minor for property or money, and three counts of child abuse, according to Fox News. She is being held on a $255,000 bond and has been ordered not to contact the child, who is currently in the care of foster services in Putnam County.
Woods was alleged to have been loitering near an H&R Block office in the days prior to the incident. An unnamed employee told authorities that Woods had entered the business the night before the incident to use the bathroom to change the girl’s diaper. The employee reported that Woods struck the child in the face while changing her.
The next day, Woods was purportedly found passed out on an air conditioner unit while the child was asleep in a shopping cart, as reported by the Daily Mail. The employee asked Woods if she or the child needed help, at which time Woods asked for money. The employee refused to give Woods cash but offered to buy necessities. Woods reportedly became angry and threw the child.
Later that day, Woods approached the employee and attempted to sell her for the sum of $500. When the employee refused to buy the child, Woods is said to have told the employee, “You can have the b*****d,” then walked away, leaving the child behind.
The employee then contacted the police, who took custody of the toddler. Woods, who police said was known to frequent the area around the H&R Block store, was located two days later, on March 7, and arrested.
