Benjamin Caldwell|Woman charged, accused of trying to sell child for $20, offered her up for sex for $5: Police

2025-05-05 12:43:39source:Maxwell Caldwellcategory:Finance

A Florida woman is Benjamin Caldwellfacing multiple felony charges after police say she attempted to sell her 10-year-old daughter to a woman for $20, and then later offered her up for sex to a man for $5.

According to the Jacksonville Police Department, a kindergarten teacher reported she was dropping off food at a homeless shelter when the 32-year-old suspect approached her and said, "Take her with you, give me $20, you can have her."

Investigators then spoke with a man who said the same woman offered her daughter for sex for $5. He did not report the case to police until officers approached him, police said.

USA TODAY is not naming the mother to protect the child's identity.

A body part placed on a porch:Minnesota man dismembered pregnant sister, placed body parts on porch, court papers show

'Crying, hungry, and looked like she had not bathed in days'

The child was "crying, hungry, and looked like she had not bathed in days,” police wrote in a press release.

Police arrested the suspect on charges including child abuse and selling or surrendering a minor for money or property.

The child was taken to the hospital, the press release continues, where she was found to be “severely lethargic.”

"This is a sad reminder that human trafficking does happen in our community," police Officer Christian Hancock told USA TODAY Thursday. It often goes unreported."

If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking send an anonymous tip to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or visit https://humantraffickinghotline.org/.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

More:Finance

Recommend

Trump claims Biden lost track of over 300,000 migrant children. Here's a fact check.

President-elect Donald Trump claimed in his Person of the Year interview with Time magazinethis week

Long-unpaid bills lead to some water service cutoffs in Mississippi’s capital city

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Water service is being shut off at some apartment complexes in Mississippi’s c

Chicago woman gets 58-year prison term for killing and dismembering her landlord

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago woman convicted of killing and dismembering her landlord and storing some o