Cops: Fla. mother Jessica Beers tried to sell son for $2K

(CBS/AP) SEMINOLE, Fla. - Jessica Beers, a Tampa Bay area woman, has been charged with trying to sell her 5-year-old son for $2,000.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office reports that 28-year-old Beers was arrested Saturday and charged with sale of parental rights and violation of probation for grand theft.

Authorities say a Tampa couple had been helping Beers financially after meeting the mother through their church. The man told deputies Beers had a prescription drug problem and was leaving the boy with them more and more.

Last week, authorities say Beers offered to sell her parental rights to the couple but they suspected she wanted the money for drugs. That is when the man contacted deputies and set up a controlled exchange with the mother.

After Beers' arrest, the child was taken into state custody.