Photo Credit: AP Photo/Sharon Ellman

Arrest Made In Sex Trafficking Of Teen Girl Who Disappeared At Mavs Game Last Year

Last year, a 15-year-old girl, who was at American Airlines Center in Dallas with her father to attend a Dallas Mavericks game, went to the restroom shortly before half-time only to never come back to her seat. Surveillance camera footage showed video of her leaving the arena with a man, who used a fake ticket to gain entry to the arena.

The incident happened on April 8, when the Dallas Mavericks played the Portland Trail Blazers. The girl’s father was waiting in his seat for his child to come back and got worried after her taking unusually long. He therefore immediately notified police at the game, who told the father to report it to North Richland Hills police, where he lives. 

Upon contacting North Richland Hills police, they told him that they couldn’t help because the incident happened in Dallas.

After a missing person report was filed, over a week passed without any new information, before a Houston-based human trafficking agency, the Texas Counter-Trafficking Initiative, was able to use their face-recognition technology to help find the missing teen.

Then, on April 18, police found her in an Oklahoma City hotel, after her parents identified her through nude photos that had been posted online in sex advertisements.

Eight people were arrested and charged with human trafficking, the distribution of child pornography, rape, or prostitution charges, but not the initial kidnappers.

Now, 9 months later, one of the alleged perpetrators was finally arrested.