As you may have read, a 15-year-old girl disappeared after she and her father went to a Dallas Mavericks basketball game. She went to use the restroom before halftime. When she didn’t return, the father notified security. They searched the American Airlines Center but found nothing. Eventually, they located video surveillance of the girl leaving with a man in his 40s.
Dallas Police dragged their heels in the investigation. The distraught parents contacted a nonprofit anti-sex-trafficking group out of Houston called the “Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative.” In less than a day, they located a nude picture of the teen on a sex trafficking website located in Oklahoma City.
So far, eight monsters have been arrested. You can see the mugshots of the first three nabbed by police here.
Karen Gonzalez is accused of taking the nude pictures of the 15-year-old girl.
Sarah Hayes watched as the photos were taken; then she posted them in online ads.
Kenneth Nelson, a convicted sex offender, used a fake ID to rent the hotel rooms used in the trafficking. He is also charged with child pornography and failing to appear in court.
All three also face charges of human trafficking, computer crimes, and conspiracy.
Five more miscreants were soon apprehended. You can see their mugshots here.
Chevaun Gibson was arrested for offering to engage in prostitution (or pimping).
Steven Hill was busted for rape in the second degree.
Thalia Gibson and Saniya Alexander were arrested on felony warrant charges.
Melissa Wheeler was taken for a robbery warrant.
Police are still unsure who took the girl from the basketball game.
How to Avoid This Happening to Your Child
There are steps parents can take to help avoid this kind of unimaginable tragedy happening to their kids. The website kidslivesafe.com has a detailed list of helpful hints:
- Abductors aren’t always creepy, older men. They are frequently “normal” looking people and may even know the child.
- They may ask a child for help looking for a lost puppy or offer some kind of treat like money or candy.
- If your child is being followed or harassed by a stranger in a mall or store, tell them to knock a lot of items off of shelves to make noise and draw attention.
- Use parental blockers on your kids’ social media and gaming sites. These sites are crawling with pedophiles.
- If approached by a stranger, children should run and yell for help. ALWAYS find an adult.
- Children should avoid wearing clothing or carrying something like a backpack with their name on it as a stranger can see it and pretend to be a friend. the child may let their guard down and become a victim.
- Take an ID-like picture of your children every six months. The 15-year-old girl in Dallas was located using facial recognition technology.
These are just some of the hints from Kids Live Safe. Please read the site for more information.
Here is a great video with 14 hints on how to identify a kidnapper.
The video has almost 12 million views and is worth taking a few minutes to watch with your kids.
Source: PJ Media
