Six women and two men are accused of abducting and trafficking a 15-year-old girl after she left her dad to use the bathroom during Mavericks basketball game in Dallas last month.
The last time her dad saw her was right before halftime when she went to use the restroom alone.
The teen was tracked down 10 days later in an Oklahoma City hotel 200 miles away after the nonprofit Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative contacted by her parents found nude photos of her on a website known for prostitution. Dallas Police “never began an investigation and failed to make any effort to locate the teenage girl,” nor even bothered to obtain a photograph of her,” according to her dad.
The Oklahoma City Police Department arrested Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill in connection with the sex trafficking case out of Texas.
“We are thankful for the work of the Oklahoma City Police Department and the recovery of our daughter. 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,” the girl’s mother said in a May 5 statement.
Officials say that a fraudulent ticket seller known to the Mavericks may have sold a fake ticket to a male suspect who allegedly lured the victim from the sports center.
And the victim’s parents want to know why Extended Stay America did not implement safety and security protocols to protect the girl from a registered sex offender who used a fake name and ID card to rent rooms at the hotel chain’s location in Oklahoma City.
The offender was allegedly able to purchase multiple hotel rooms for multiple nights.