Parents of Teenager Allegedly Sex-Trafficked From Mavs Game: ‘This Can Happen Anywhere’
As the Dallas Mavericks took on the Portland Trail Blazers in their regular-season home finale on April 8, a scary incident occurred behind the scenes at American Airlines Center.
A 15-year-old girl, who had gone to the bathroom just before halftime, never returned to her seat, which led to security being called by her parents. The girl was seen on the security tapes leaving the arena with an unknown man. She was allegedly sex-trafficked in the public venue with thousands of people present.
Thankfully, the girl was found 10 days later in Oklahoma City. However, her parents painted a grim picture of what happened to her in that timeframe, saying she was "sexually assaulted multiple times, starved and not allowed to bathe" in an interview with ESPN and “Good Morning America.”
"We just want to make sure people understand that something like this can happen to anyone, anywhere. Even if you don't think it's possible, there's people out there that they want to make it happen,” said Kyle Morris, who is the girl’s stepfather.
The girl told her mother that there were many other girls in Oklahoma going through the same stuff she did, and wondered how many didn’t have people looking for them. The Morris family just wants everyone who reads their daughter’s to be extra vigilant when being out in public, because you never know where dangerous people could be lurking.
Zeke Fortenberry, the family’s lawyer, said the Mavs were helpful with the investigation. Kyle Morris, who is a Mavs season ticket holder, emailed owner Mark Cuban about the incident and got a reply within minutes with other helpful people and resources that could potentially help.
You can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to report any suspicious incidents.
