Can you buy or sell a child in Texas? Here’s what the law says

Brayden Garcia
·2 min read
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Items are left for trash pick-up outside of the last known residence of Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez in Everman, Texas, on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Some furniture and toys are from the bedrooms Noel and his six siblings shared.

The mother of the 6-year-old boy who went missing in Everman told a relative that she sold the boy to someone at a Fiesta Mart store, according to a search warrant for the family’s home.

Everman police have said that they have not uncovered evidence that supports the story that the missing boy was sold.

The case of missing 6-year-old Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez

Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez was officially reported missing March 20, but according to what relatives told Everman police, they have not seen Noel in about a year. On Thursday, Everman police announced in a news conference that the search for the boy is now a death investigation.

Texas Child Protective Services received an anonymous tip about Noel’s disappearance over a year ago and authorities went to a property on Wisteria Drive, where the family had been living for several years. Cindy Rodriguez-Singh, her husband and their seven children, including Noel, lived partly in a converted shed in the back yard and partly inside the house, which is owned by Charles Parson.

Here’s what we know about the buying and selling of a child in Texas:

Can you buy or sell a child in Texas?

It is illegal under Texas law to buy or sella child.

Section 25.08 of title 6 of the Texas Penal Code, defines the buying and selling of a child as: “Possesses a child younger than 18 years of age or has the custody, conservatorship, or guardianship of a child younger that 18 years of age, whether or not he has actual possession of the child, and he offers to accept, agrees to accept, or accepts a thing of value for the delivery of the child to another or for the possession of the child by another for the purposes of adoption.”

The law continues:

“Or, offers to give, agrees to give, or gives a thing of value to another for acquiring or maintaining the possession of a child for the purpose of adoption.”

Thus, selling a child to another person is illegal. Also, selling a child to another person for the purposes of adoption is against the law.

What’s the penalty for selling a child in Texas?

The buying or selling of a child in Texas is a third degree felony, which carries a maximum possible fine of up to $10,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

An offense under this section can lead to a second degree felony if, “The actor commits the offense with intent to commit another offense under, Section 20A.02, 43.021, 43.05 or 43.25”. Those crimes are:

A second degree felony in Texas carries a maximum possible fine of up to $10,000 and up to 20 years in prison.