A 15-year-old girl vanished after her father took her to Dallas Mavericks basketball. She used the bathroom before halftime. The father called security when she didn’t come back. They searched the American Airlines Center, but they couldn’t find anything. They eventually found video surveillance of the girl leaving with an older man in his 40s.
The Dallas Police were slow to respond to the investigation. The parents were distraught and contacted the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative, a Houston-based non-profit anti-sex-trafficking organization. They found a nude photo of the teenager on an Oklahoma City-based sex trafficking website.
Eight monsters have been detained so far. The mugshots for the first three monsters captured by police can be viewed here.
Karen Gonzalez is accused of the nude photos of the 15-year-old girl.
Sarah Hayes viewed the photos being taken and then posted them online.
Kenneth Nelson was convicted of sex offenses and used a fake identification to rent the rooms in the trafficking. He was also charged with child pornography, failing to appear in court, and other charges.
They are also facing charges of human trafficking, computer crime, and conspiracy.
Five other miscreants were quickly apprehended. Here are their mugshots.
Chevaun Gibson was charged with offering prostitution or pimping.
Steven Hill was arrested for second-degree rape.
Thalia Gibson and Saniya Alex were both arrested for felony warrants.
Melissa Wheeler was arrested for a robbery charge.
Police are still not sure who took the girl from the game of basketball.
How to Prevent This from Happening to Your Child
Parents can take steps to prevent this type of unimaginable tragedy from happening to their children. Kidslivesafe.com offers a comprehensive list of useful hints.
Older men are not always a target for abductors. They can be “normal-looking” people who may even know the child.
They might ask children for help in finding a lost dog or offer money or candy to reward them.
Tell your child to knock many items off the shelves if they are being harassed or followed by someone in a store or mall.
You can use parental control to block your children’s gaming and social media sites. These sites are rife with pedophiles.
Children should run and shout for help if they are approached by strangers. Always find an adult.
Children shouldn’t wear clothing or carry backpacks with their names on them. A stranger could see the backpack and pretend to be a friend. The child might lose their guard and fall prey to others.
Every six months, take an ID-like photo of your children. Dallas facial recognition technology helped locate the 15-year-old girl.
These are just a few of the tips from Kids Live Safe. For more information, please visit the website.
This video contains 14 tips on how to spot a kidnapper.
This video has been viewed almost 12,000,000 times and it is well worth spending a few minutes with your children.
