HOUSTON – Juniper Bryson has been charged with a felony for trying to sell her unborn child to the “highest bidder” after giving birth in Harris County.

According to court documents, the 21-year-old is charged with selling or buying a child after she asked people for compensation to pick up her child from the hospital because she didn’t want the baby to go into foster care and was worried that the. d positive drug test.

Bryson asked a family member on Sept. 21 if he knew anyone who wanted to adopt, and the family member reached out to other people on Facebook to look for possible adoptive parents, records show. In the family member’s Facebook post, she said: “She (Bryson) needs someone there during labor and to take the little boy home. She doesn’t want him to go into foster care.”

CRIME: Houston ICE removed 25 child predators from Houston; targeting other criminals

When Bryson mentioned receiving money for the child, the family member told him it was illegal and sounded “crazy,” officials say. She later told authorities she had no idea of ​​Bryson’s true intentions when she initially reached out.

According to court records of their conversation, Bryson told the family member he needed enough “to move into an apartment so I can work a job … or a cheap down payment on any car to get to different seats to the door, 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 had a contract, so it needed to be done soon.

Court records say another woman was at the hospital when Bryson gave birth because she was hoping to adopt the baby. The woman told authorities she contacted Bryson about her unborn son at the time because she is licensed to adopt and foster children. After a conversation, the woman ended up at the hospital because Bryson looked like he was going into labor earlier than his due date. At the hospital, the woman says Bryson gave birth on September 24th, and after running tests, the hospital confirmed drugs in the newborn’s body.

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

Get news, weather and more in the new FOX LOCAL app

At the time, the woman says Bryson did not ask her for compensation, but she knew the 21-year-old had asked other women for money, the documents show. 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 several people asking for money if they wanted the child. In a chain of text messages, Bryson demanded a minimum of $150 in advance from a couple driving to Houston from Louisiana. When they refused to pay, Bryson allegedly said, “If her baby isn’t worth $200 to them, then screw her.”

Bryson had his bond initially set at $30,000, but it was raised to $60,000 on Thursday.