Eight suspected human traffickers were busted in Oklahoma City for allegedly trafficking a 15-year-old Texas girl at a Dallas Mavericks game last month and now the girl’s parents want to know why more wasn’t done to get their daughter home quicker.
The girl entered a bathroom at the Dallas’ American Airlines Center on April 8 while attending the game with her father and never returned, an attorney for the family, Zeke Fortenberry, said in a news release obtained by Fox News.
The girl went missing for ten days until she was located by investigators at an Extended Stay America hotel in Oklahoma City — roughly 200 miles away — on April 18.
Those arrested by Oklahoma City Police Department in connection with the trafficking case are Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill.
“We are thankful for the work of the Oklahoma City Police Department and the recovery of our daughter,” the girl’s mother said in a statement on May 5. “My heart breaks for the unimaginable things my daughter had to endure for the 11 days she was taken, and I am so glad she is safe as we work toward her recovery.”
When the girl didn’t return from the bathroom to her seat, her dad immediately notified arena security and Dallas cops of her disappearance, Fortenberry told the outlet.
Investigators were able to track down the girl with the help of the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative (TXCTI) — a nonprofit organization that was able to track down nude images of the girl on a prostitution website.
Despite pleas from the teen’s parents, the Dallas Police Department never investigated the case due to Texas Family Code laws, which say missing juveniles are treated as runaways “unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction.”
The parents are now questioning why Dallas police officers or the American Airlines Center did not do more to help track down the girl sooner, as well as why the Extended Stay America allowed a registered sex offender with a fake name and ID to rent rooms.
“The systems and organizations involved in this case continually failed the victim. She should never have had contact with the man at the Mavericks game. The Dallas Police should have worked quickly to investigate leads and locate the teenager before she was trafficked to Oklahoma,” Fortenberry told Fox in a statement.
“The Extended Stay America hotel in Oklahoma City put profits ahead of people by turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation occurring right before their eyes. This victim’s life will forever be changed. We hope to hold accountable those responsible and create change within these organizations so that this never happens to any other child.”
