Mother Investigated for Human Trafficking After She Joked About Selling Her Son on Twitter

After sending a joking tweet about her 3-year-old son, mom Alex McDaniel was investigated for human trafficking, McDaniel shared on Magnolia State Live.

McDaniel, who is the Director of Content and Audience Development for the site, shared that she recently tweeted a funny exchange with her son about using the bathroom, followed by, “3-year-old for sale. $12 or best offer.”

“It was that tweet that sparked the most hellish week of my life as I prepared for a home visit in which my case worker would inspect my home and the possibility of more interviews with my son,” she wrote. “All because enough people believed I was actually trying to sell my son on Twitter for $12.”

Last week, a caseworker and supervisor from Child Protection Services visited her office with a sheriff’s deputy, telling her that an anonymous tipster had called Mississippi’s child abuse hotline to report her for attempting to sell her son, citing a history of mental illness.

McDaniel shared that she worked with “a fantastic attorney,” who was able to get the case dropped in days. While the caller is still anonymous, McDaniels speculates it was someone who disagrees with her views, which she often posts online.

“It is one thing to come after me, a grown adult woman who enthusiastically signed up for a career that comes with a large amount of exposure and criticism,” she wrote. “Coming after my son is utterly despicable.”

McDaniel went on to say that she holds no ill will toward CPS and that she understands they were just doing their job.

“What upsets me more is the idea of anyone using an agency designed to protect Mississippi’s most vulnerable children as a weapon to take someone down for no legitimate reason,” she wrote. “Time and resources that should have been spent on children and families who genuinely need it were instead dedicated to a tweet, and all because someone out there probably got bent out of shape that I don’t see the world the way he does.”

Photo Credit: Magnolia State Live