Texas Woman Faces Charges For Her Attempt to Buy Pregnant Inmates Unborn Babies
A Texas adoption agency owner is indicted for what authorities have deemed “unethical adoption practices.”
According to Fox4 News, a woman identified as Jody Hall is facing two charges of the “sale or purchase of a child.”
The 68-year-old was accused by the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office of “paying money to multiple pregnant Tarrant County inmates for the purpose of placing their unborn children up for adoption with [her] agency.”
Hall is said to be the leader of Adoptions International, Inc., according to public documents.
A probable cause affidavit outlining the charges against Hall was made public by Tarrant County. Hall allegedly sent $846 to an inmate’s account and attempted to put the convict in touch with his boyfriend so that he could sign paperwork relinquishing parental rights to their child, according to the filings.
Reportedly On the iPads that Hall and another prisoner reportedly used while incarcerated, investigators found evidence in text messages.
“I’ve helped a lot of girls like yourself. We have families who cannot have children that would love to adopt your child,” wrote Hall. “You can pick a family and start communicating with them now. We will put $100 weekly on your books, and you can spend part of it on the tablet or whatever you wish to buy.”
“You will have $2,500 when you get out, or if you want me to put some on your books each week, I can do that,” she wrote on another occasion.
In another situation earlier this spring, investigators say Hall had transferred $846 to an inmate, who then decided to keep her child.
The inmates’ accounts had deposits made by Hall, according to the investigators.
Reportedly the Tarrant County Jail already pays for inmates’ living and pregnancy-related expenditures, so the payments were allegedly illegal, according to the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office.
The federal records show that in 2019, Hall’s agency’s accreditation was suspended and ultimately revoked.
According to the Intercounty Adoption Accreditation and Maintenance body, Hall’s termination was for “failing to maintain substantial compliance with accreditation standards.”
In May, detectives from Tarrant County and the Texas Rangers opened an investigation on Hall’s firm.
On July 23, she was taken into custody at her residence in Kyle, Texas, and subsequently lodged in the Hays County prison.
The same day that Hall posted her $50,000 bond, she was released.
