A heartless Florida mother allegedly tried to sell her toddler for $500 at a bank before no one took her up on the offer and abandoned the child last week.
Jessica Woods, 33, was spotted loitering outside a H&R Block location in Palatka, Fla. with her 18-month-old daughter when she was approached by one of the bank’s employees.
The employee had recognized Woods as the mother who frequented the area and even used the bank’s restroom to change her daughter.
Woods, at one point, was spotted hitting her daughter with her elbow and spanking her inside the bathroom, according to a probable cause affidavit viewed by the Daily Mail.
The next morning, on March 5, Woods was found sleeping on an exterior air condition unit while her daughter was inside a nearby shopping cart with no blankets.
The concerned bank employee questioned the woman if she needed help and Woods allegedly demanded money.
Her demand was not met but the employee had offered to buy the duo items, which frustrated Woods to the point where she threw her child, according to the outlet.
Later in the day, Woods returned to the bank where she placed her child on the ground who immediately started crawling toward traffic.
The employee picked the child up and Woods asked if she wanted to purchase her daughter.
“Woods told the citizen she did not need anything but, offered to sell the child to the citizen for $500,” the Palatka Police Department said in a press release. “When the citizen refused to purchase the child, Woods walked away, leaving her daughter behind.”
The employee brought the toddler inside the bank to clean her up before reporting Woods’ horrid behavior to the police.
Officers brought the child into their care until the Department of Children and Families arrived and took custody of the girl.
“As a result of an investigation, Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Woods charging her with child abuse, child neglect, and abandonment of a child.”
The child has since been put into foster care.
Woods was located March 7 and charged with six felony charges, according to jail records viewed by The Post.
She was placed into Putnam County Jail and booked for Selling or Surrendering a minor for money or property, Unlawful Desertion of a Child, Aggravated Child Abuse, and three Abuse Child without Great Bodily Harm.
The charges added up to a bond of $255,000, according to court records.
In 2022, a Florida sex offender was arrested when he allegedly tried to “purchase” an 8-year-old girl for $100,000 at a grocery store.
Hellmuth Kolb had been on probation and was banned from having contact with children after trying to buy a different child in Walmart in 2018, according to WESH-TV.
