Texas Mom Gets 6 Years In Prison For Selling Son To Pay $2,500 Drug Debt

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX — A mom in Texas who is accused of selling her seven-year-old son and attempting to sell her two younger daughters took a plea deal and has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Esmeralda Garza of Corpus Christi was arrested in June 2018 after investigators discovered she sold her son for $2,500 and tried two sell her daughters, ages two and three.

Reportedly, Garza told police that she and her boyfriend needed the money to pay off their drug debts.

In court on Friday, Garza was convicted on three counts of selling or purchasing a child, in addition to separate counts of money laundering and conspiracy to sell or purchase a child.

Judge Jack Pulcher sentenced Garza to six years for each count of selling a child, and two years apiece for each of the other charges. The judge said that the sentences will be served concurrently, meaning that Garza will do a total of six years.

Talking to the press, First Assistant District Attorney Matt Manning said, “She was sentenced to the maximum, which is two years in state jail. It's very important to us that we send a very clear and unequivocal message: If you hurt children or have the audacity to sell a child, we're going to do all we can to hold you accountable and put you in prison where you belong."

Garza will be eligible for parole in two years. Investigations continue into her boyfriend and the couple that allegedly purchased her son.

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