Texas Couple Sells 5-Year-Old for Sex and a Used Car

This is Not an Isolated Incident

Jennifer Richards is a mother of two. Sean Michael Block is a married father of a 14-month-old little girl. They worked together at the Cheesecake Factory in San Antonio, Texas. They became romantically involved. That is where this normal-sounding situation ends and goes off track. The FBI has charged Jennifer Richards and Sean Michael Block with attempting to sell Jennifer Richards' 5-year-old daughter for sex in return for an apartment, a used car, and day-care for Richards' 10-month-old child.

According to the Associated Press, he FBI began investigating the two when an informant provided them with a text message from Block that read: "Nice piece 5 yrs old belongs to my gf and she wants to sell it."

The informant was the target of a blackmail scheme. According to the affidavit, Jennifer Richards "was of the belief that these sexual interactions would be a positive experience for (her daughter) and that Richards would receive sexual gratification." The affidavit also attests that Block allegedly sent an e-mail with a link to a Russian child pornography site.

Jennifer Richards, 25, has been charged with using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor. Block, who is 40, is charged with distributing child pornography.

Rex Miller, the FBI's lead agent in the case, testified that plans were found on the couple's computers to abduct, rape, and "carve up" a teenage runaway.

Block's lawyer, Ronald Guyer, told the judge that there was no evidence that the behavior progressed beyond Block's fantasy.

Yet...

Tales of depravity are nothing new. Each one is an unfortunate cautionary tale for society and the details of each one have their very own unique singular and cumulative shock value. And each one is a testament to a broken life and fractured innocence.