Human trafficking case following Dallas Mavericks game draws attention – Oklahoman.com

Media reports have resurfaced about a 15-year-old girl who disappeared in April from Dallas and later was found in Oklahoma City, having allegedly been a victim of human trafficking.

Here is what we know about the case. 

The girl went missing April 8 during a Dallas Mavericks game at American Airlines Center. Surveillance footage showed her leaving the arena with an unknown man. 

Dallas police initially reported the girl as a runaway.

The Dallas Police Department did not speak to The Oklahoman about the case but emailed the following statement, which also has been given to other inquiring media organizations:

“On April 8, 2022, an off-duty Dallas police officer working the Dallas Mavericks game was notified of a missing person at the game. The event and location was searched that evening.

“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.

“A report was generated by Dallas Police and Dallas Police assisted the North Richland Hills Police Department (lead agency as that was where the teen resided) and a bulletin about the missing teen was created and went out to the department on April 11, 2022.”

In Oklahoma City, police were alerted to concerns the girl was being illegally trafficked for commercial sex purposes, and photos of her had been placed in online ads. 

Three arrests were made related to the suspected trafficking

On April 15, police arrested three people on allegations of human trafficking. 

They are accused of keeping the girl at an Extended Stay America hotel on the southwest side. 

Each of the accused remained in custody at the Oklahoma County jail as of Monday afternoon. 

The girl was found on April 18

On April 18, Oklahoma City police located the girl near the area of SW 15 and Westwood Boulevard. 

The Dallas Morning News reported the girl had been reported missing before. In April 2021, she was missing for two days before Fort Worth police found her, according to the news organization.

OKCPD claim it is not a kidnapping

Oklahoma City police told The Oklahoman the recent case was not a kidnapping. 

“Although this was not an abduction, we had evidence that the female was being sexually trafficked,” police Master Sgt. Gary Knight said. “But anytime that's going on, we want to be able to rescue a person out of a situation like that.”

Advocates who work with sex trafficking victims told The Oklahoman the story has popped up again because the public isn't aware of how prevalent the problem is. 

“For some reason, this story seemed to send a shockwave through the community,” said Melissa Eick, co-founder of The Dragonfly Home, the state's first and only non-residential human trafficking crisis center. “Human trafficking and sex trafficking is happening every day. That hasn't changed. Maybe it's because most of the general public isn't cognizant of this happening every day.”

Dallas attorney says family still seeking answers

A Dallas-based attorney for the girl's family says they are still seeking answers from the Dallas Mavericks, the American Airlines Center and Dallas police. 

Attorney Zeke Fortenberry was unavailable for comment Monday, but his staff forwarded a May 5 news release about the case. 

The family turned to the nonprofit Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative for help. 

“With the assistance of TxCTI, sexually explicit images of the victim were found on a website prostituting her in Oklahoma City,” Fortenberry said in the news release. 

TxCTI contacted the Oklahoma City Police Department, who investigated the case here.  

Fortenberry said in the news release that a registered sex offender used a false name and fake identification card to rent multiple hotel rooms at the Extended Stay America hotel.

The teenage girl was held at the hotel for multiple nights and was sexually assaulted at the hotel, he said. 

“Extended Stay America failed to implement safety and security protocols to protect the teenage victim and ignored clear signs of human trafficking,” Fortenberry said in the news release.”

Hotel officials could not be reached for comment Monday.

Fortenberry further blamed Dallas authorities and the Mavericks organization.

“The Dallas Mavericks and the AAC failed to protect the victim from the man with the illegal ticket in a restricted area,” Fortenberry said in the news release. “Despite being immediately notified of the teenager's disappearance within minutes of it occurring at the AAC, the Dallas Police Department refused to investigate the case.”

Officials with the American Airlines Center declined to comment. The Dallas Mavericks could not be reached Monday.