Houston woman charged for attempting to sell her newborn son

HOUSTON - Juniper Bryson has been charged with a felony for attempting to sell her unborn child to "the highest bidder" after she gave birth in Harris County.

According to court documents, the 21-year-old is charged with sale or purchase of a child after she asked people for compensation to take her child from the hospital because she didn't want the baby going into foster care and was concerned he'd test positive for drugs.

Bryson asked a family member on Sept. 21 if they knew anyone willing to adopt and the family member reached out to other people on Facebook to look for possible parents wanting to adopt, records state. In the family member's Facebook post she said, "She [Bryson] needs someone there during labor and take the baby boy home. She doesn't want him going into foster care."

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When Bryson mentioned receiving money for the child, the family member told her it was illegal and she sounded "crazy," officials say. She later told authorities she had no idea of Bryson's true intentions when she originally reached out.

Based on court records of their conversation, Bryson told the family member she just needed enough "to move into an apartment so I can work a job...or cheap down payment on any car to get to different places to door dash nothing crazy at all."

In a Facebook group for birth mothers looking for adoptive parents, Bryson posted on Sept. 22 that she was willing to travel, and she was contracting, so it had to be done soon.

Court records claim another woman was at the hospital at the time Bryson gave birth because she was hoping to adopt the baby. The woman told authorities she reached out to Bryson about her unborn son at the time, since she is licensed to adopt and foster children. After a conversation, the woman arrived at the hospital since Bryson seemed she would give birth sooner than her due date. At the hospital, the woman says Bryson gave birth on Sept. 24 and after conducting tests, the hospital confirmed drugs in the newborn's body.

Officials say Bryson posted a picture of the infant on Facebook and tagged the woman, who then began receiving messages asking, "Did you buy her baby?" It wasn't until after the woman realized what was going on and reported the screenshots of the original Facebook post to the nurse and involved Child Protective Services.

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At the time, the woman says Bryson had not asked her for compensation but knew the 21-year-old asked other women for money, documents state. The woman reported after seeing Bryson's phone that she was waiting "for the highest bidder in exchange for her son."

Cort documents state after investigating Bryson's phone, she was in communication with multiple people asking for money if they wanted her baby. In one text message chain, Bryson asked for a minimum of $150 up front from a couple driving to Houston from Louisiana. When they refused to pay, Bryson allegedly said, "if her baby wasn't worth $200 to them, then screw y'all."

Bryson had her bond initially set to $30,000, but it increased to $60,000 on Thursday.