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The Texas Family Code laws seem bizarre if they allow the police to ignore the disappearance of a minor from a Dallas Mavericks game. What am I missing? Is there any information as to why the teen left with her abductor? Scary story.
<<The teen went to the bathroom at the American Airlines Center on April 8 and never returned, her family’s attorney Zeke Fortenberry of the Fortenberry Firm, PLLC said in a release, obtained by Fox News.
She was missing for 10 days until Oklahoma City law enforcement located her at an Extended Stay America hotel— roughly 200 miles away — on April 18.
The Oklahoma City Police Department has arrested Saniya Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Chevaun Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzales, Thalia Gibson and Steven Hill in connection to the trafficking case. Gibson is charged with offering to engage in prostitution; Nelson, Hayes and Gonzales are charged with human trafficking and distribution of child pornography; Hill is charged with rape; Gibson and Alexander have felony warrants; and Wheeler has a robbery warrant.
Mr Fortenberry said despite the family’s pleas to the Dallas Police Department, authorities refused to investigate the case citing Texas Family Code laws, which consider missing juveniles to be runaways “unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction.”??>>
It sounds as if the teen was "lured" from the game:
<<He said the man that lured the teenage girl from the game found her in an area inside the center that he did not have a valid ticket to be in, and that the fraudulent ticket \ the man had was provided by an individual known to the Dallas Mavericks and American Airlines Center as a seller of fraudulent tickets.>>
In essence, the Dallas police in this case determined that the disappearance of a teen from a basketball game did not constitute a kidnapping. Isn't there any public demand for an explanation from the Dallas police and/or for accountability?
Obviously, this case likely will result in a civil action for damages.
There's a lot going on here. I'm not sure who will be the target of the civil action, though. The people who kidnapped the girl? It seems unlikely they would have enough money to make it worth a lawsuit. The Mavs? For what, someone getting into one of their games without a ticket? That seems unlikely. The Mavs have incentive to prevent this practice anyway, and there's nothing about the ticket buying process that should weed out kidnappers. The police? I guess this hinges on the Family Code issue.
<<"Texas Family Code dictates that missing juveniles are investigated as runaways unless there are circumstances which appear as involuntary such as a kidnapping or abduction. Those cases per code are to be filed where the juvenile resides.>>
Here's what I don't understand. When a teen disappears on video with an unknown man from a Dallas Mavericks game, how is the Dallas police department absolved of investigating the incident? How did the Dallas police know there was no coercion or illegal enticement? Couldn't the man have told the teen that he had a gun? It sounds as if there is no obvious, irrefutable evidence of an abduction, the Dallas police are unconcerned about disappearances of teenage girls, and this may be the attitude in other jurisdictions.
How many teenage girls disappear annually in Texas? How many of these cases are ever investigated as kidnappings, and, if they are investigated as kidnappings, why?
This story does reveal that the teen apparently had run away on one prior time.
This may be an issue nationally.
Isn't the disappearance of a teen in the company of an adult illegal in Texas?????
One aspect of this case is very clear. The policy of Dallas police not to investigate disappearances of teens makes Dallas an incredibly fertile ground for human traffickers.
You do realize that you cited a TEXAS family code, yet are harping on DALLAS PD, right?
And even specifically stated that she had run away prior to this.
I get that you have an axe to grind here, but maybe try pressuring the STATE officials that create the legislation that the local officials operate under.
No axe to grind. I don't understand how the Dallas police would think a MINOR leaving an arena with an adult male wasn't a kidnapping (isn't this legally a kidnapping under Texas law even if the teen left voluntarily???), which would have required an investigation by the Dallas police even under the Texas family code. We don't know any of the details about how she had disappeared once before for a few days. We also don't know if the teen was coerced to leave the arena, and the Dallas police had no way of knowing that she didn't leave under coercion.
<<"There’s no telling what they said to her," Stafford-Manning said. "There’s no telling what they offered her, or if they had been communicating with her online.”
When news alerts started going out about a missing 15-year-old girl who'd left a Dallas Mavericks game with a strange man, Dr. Tonya Stafford-Manning said she read straight through the limited details police were able to give in the case.
"I knew," Stafford-Manning said. "It spelled human trafficking. This is it. This is how it goes. This is human trafficking.">>
Did the Dallas police even study other surveillance cameras and traffic cameras in an attempt to rescue the teen???
I would think that Texas parents of teenage girls would be outraged that Texas police agencies didn't view this as a kidnapping, and, more especially, just wrote it off as a runaway situation with no further investigation needed. As the incident occurred in Dallas, it was the Dallas police who were in the best position to investigate thoroughly the abduction immediately and attempt to recover the minor.
Again, the actions/policy interpretation of the Dallas police and perhaps the provisions of the Texas family code certainly make Texas a fertile hunting ground for human traffickers of minors. Isn't anybody outraged by this other than the teen's family???
It would be excellent if Dallas and perhaps even a state agency had 24/7 experts who reviewed reports of child disappearances to identify cases of likely kidnapped, endangered children as opposed to runaways.
<<The family's attorney told CBS 11 the teen was lured out of the AAC under false pretenses by a sex trafficking ring.>>
More granularity in this case would be extremely beneficial to not only police agencies, but also to parents.
What's clear in retrospect is that a human trafficker was stalking potential victims at a Mavericks game. I wonder if he approached other teenagers before the victim. If so, did these targets immediately report the encounter? Do public venue security officials have procedures in place to react immediately to such reports?
Most disturbingly, according to the interview, the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative (TXCTI) was able to locate their daughter in Oklahoma City within FOUR HOURS of being contacted by the parents requesting the organization's assistance. How much sooner would the teen have been rescued if any police agency had employed similar resources and procedures?
Aren't any Texas authorities sufficiently concerned about the details in this case to investigate the policing failures and propose remedies?
I wonder if any state has an agency to identify and take jurisdiction of suspected human trafficking incidents. I also wonder why neither the parents nor either of the police agencies involved in this incident contacted the FBI, which I suspect might have assumed jurisdiction and has the resources to conduct a multi-state investigation.
It remains unfortunate that the parents haven't provided more granularity about exactly how the teen was lured away from the arena. Such information could be invaluable to other parents.
Most disturbingly, according to the interview, the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative (TXCTI) was able to locate their daughter in Oklahoma City within FOUR HOURS of being contacted by the parents requesting the organization's assistance. How much sooner would the teen have been rescued if any police agency had employed similar resources and procedures?
Aren't any Texas authorities sufficiently concerned about the details in this case to investigate the policing failures and propose remedies?
I wonder if any state has an agency to identify and take jurisdiction of suspected human trafficking incidents. I also wonder why neither the parents nor either of the police agencies involved in this incident contacted the FBI, which I suspect might have assumed jurisdiction and has the resources to conduct a multi-state investigation.
It remains unfortunate that the parents haven't provided more granularity about exactly how the teen was lured away from the arena. Such information could be invaluable to other parents.
Has there been a more detailed investigation of this incident in the Dallas media?
Supposedly this had been a problem child...had run away from home a few times before. That might explain why the video footage showed her willingly leaving with the men from the stadium. Sounds to me like the parents should have been more vigilant given her history. Makes me also wonder about the parents ranting and raving when their daughter has this behavior. Perhaps there is some deeper issue that we clearly dont know about that the parents dont want to expose so divert by going off on the police. I'm just spitballing here so just my opinion.
Supposedly this had been a problem child...had run away from home a few times before. That might explain why the video footage showed her willingly leaving with the men from the stadium. Sounds to me like the parents should have been more vigilant given her history. Makes me also wonder about the parents ranting and raving when their daughter has this behavior. Perhaps there is some deeper issue that we clearly dont know about that the parents dont want to expose so divert by going off on the police. I'm just spitballing here so just my opinion.
If you listen to the longer video interview with the parents, they explain that this perception of their daughter isn't accurate -- in the prior incidents, she didn't run away, according to them, she just left without permission to spend a night with her friends.
This is a family with significant financial resources (Dallas Mavericks season ticket holders). To some degree, the parents are framing this case to best result in a successful civil action against the Mavericks and the Dallas police department.
Regardless, what is perfectly obvious is that the teen left the arena with a strange man WITHOUT parental consent or knowledge. As she was a legal minor, this would seem to be a kidnapping under any definition of the law. Any yet, the Dallas police declined to begin an immediate investigation to find the teen. It's not clear to me that the Dallas police even complied with existing Texas state law as they classified this disappearance as a runaway situation as opposed to a kidnapping.
What should really concern Texans, and Americans in other states with similar laws and attitudes, is that if this case had been left to the sole discretion of the Texas police authorities, this teen's life would have been even more seriously impaired and perhaps forfeited. Also disturbingly, a group of teen predators would still be free to victimize other teens, and ravage families.
As I've said repeatedly, the failure of the parents to provide a detailed explanation of how the teen was lured from the arena is detrimental to parents attempting to prevent a similar incident. My hunch/hope is that Dallas and other Texas police authorities are in possession of this information and are adjusting their policies accordingly.
Also, Texas law seems badly in need of a revision to prevent a repeat of such an incident, and more importantly, to reduce the ability of predatory sexual predators to operate so freely in Texas.
If you listen to the longer video interview with the parents, they explain that this perception of their daughter isn't accurate -- in the prior incidents, she didn't run away, according to them, she just left without permission to spend a night with her friends.
This is a family with significant financial resources (Dallas Mavericks season ticket holders). To some degree, the parents are framing this case to best result in a successful civil action against the Mavericks and the Dallas police department.
Regardless, what is perfectly obvious is that the teen left the arena with a strange man WITHOUT parental consent or knowledge. As she was a legal minor, this would seem to be a kidnapping under any definition of the law. Any yet, the Dallas police declined to begin an immediate investigation to find the teen. It's not clear to me that the Dallas police even complied with existing Texas state law as they classified this disappearance as a runaway situation as opposed to a kidnapping.
What should really concern Texans, and Americans in other states with similar laws and attitudes, is that if this case had been left to the sole discretion of the Texas police authorities, this teen's life would have been even more seriously impaired and perhaps forfeited. Also disturbingly, a group of teen predators would still be free to victimize other teens, and ravage families.
As I've said repeatedly, the failure of the parents to provide a detailed explanation of how the teen was lured from the arena is detrimental to parents attempting to prevent a similar incident. My hunch/hope is that Dallas and other Texas police authorities are in possession of this information and are adjusting their policies accordingly.
Also, Texas law seems badly in need of a revision to prevent a repeat of such an incident, and more importantly, to reduce the ability of predatory sexual predators to operate so freely in Texas.
I’m not disagreeing with anything you said, I just find it strange as a father myself that the girl was allowed to go off by herself without anyone going with her. Whether you call it running away or anything else, something is clearly amiss in that family dynamic. And the girl was shown happily leaving with two strangers. If her judgement is that bad then in my opinion the fault lies with the parents. It’s their responsibility to safeguard the child from herself if necessary, not kick back and wait for the police to do it.
[quote=biafra4life;63715361]I’m not disagreeing with anything you said, I just find it strange as a father myself that the girl was allowed to go off by herself without anyone going with her.
Most parents allow their teenagers to go to rest rooms in arenas on their own, or at least they did, before this story became news.
Quote:
Originally Posted by biafra4life
Whether you call it running away or anything else, something is clearly amiss in that family dynamic. And the girl was shown happily leaving with two strangers. If her judgement is that bad then in my opinion the fault lies with the parents. It’s their responsibility to safeguard the child from herself if necessary, not kick back and wait for the police to do it.
I saw nothing that said the teen left with two strangers, left alone that she left happily. What's the basis for this statement? Unfortunately, we still don't know she was induced to leave the arena.
You're making numerous assumptions in blaming this incident on the parents. One thing to consider is that the stranger made contact with the teen in a restricted area which he shouldn't have been allowed to enter, and this fact perhaps influenced the father's lack of concern about the safety of the teen.
What's clear to me is regardless of the teen's mental acumen, that she clearly left the arena under the influence of a stranger and that should constitute a kidnapping and a robust police response.
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Lured away under false pretenses
