The family of a North Texas teen sex trafficked after disappearing from a Mavericks game in April 2022 has shared a few photos to show her entrapment, rescue, and recovery.
Kyle and Brooke Morris recently sat down with CBS Texas to tell the story of their daughter’s sexual exploitation after disappearing in Dallas and her recovery after being rescued by the authorities in Oklahoma. To accomplish this, they shared five photographs, which have been censored due to their daughter’s young age.
The first photograph the Morrises shared was an ad allegedly posted online by their daughter’s sex traffickers on April 14, 2022, when she was just 15 years old.
“[H]ow are you gentlemen doing this afternoon/evening I am here from Dallas visiting looking for some company just hit me up and we will go from there,” read the post, purported to be from a 21-year-old.
This image was uncovered by a private investigator who tracked the Morrises’ daughter to a hotel room in Oklahoma City, where eight individuals were arrested, as previously covered in The Dallas Express.
This ad was posted eight days after the teen disappeared from the American Airlines Center. Surveillance footage showed her leaving in the company of two men. One of them, Emanuel Jose Cartagena, 33, was arrested in late January 2023.
However, the charges against him of sexual assault of a child were later thrown out by a Dallas County grand jury. This was much to the disappointment of the Morrises, who claimed that District Attorney John Creuzot’s inaction served only to further silence sex trafficking victims.
The second photograph the Morrises showed was of their daughter in the back of a police car upon her rescue 11 days after her disappearance. It had been sent to them in order to identify her.
It shows a young girl with a sad and vacant expression. She was wearing no shoes, just a green T-shirt and shorts.
“She was crying. Praying to God that He would find her and save her,” Kyle said.
The next photo shows the teen hugging a Beagle puppy named Gunter, an addition to the family that her parents say played an instrumental role in her recovery.
“It has really given her something to take care of. Something that needs her. Something that relies on her,” Brooke said.
The final two photos are more recent, demonstrating how far she has come through her family’s support, taking care of Gunter, and therapy.
“I would say she’s happy,” said Brooke.
Now 17 years old, the teen has her driver’s license, spends time with friends, and is finishing high school.
“As horrible as everything is, it’s important to understand the growth that’s going to come from it because the story is far from over,” said Brooke.
Although their daughter isn’t ready to tell her story yet, she wants it to be heard and believed, her parents said. She wants the same thing for other victims of sex trafficking as well.
“No matter what other people say. No matter what attorneys say, what a judge says, what the media says. You are believed! That I know beyond a shadow of a doubt. That is exactly what she would say,” said Brooke.
In Dallas, offenses related to human trafficking have climbed considerably in 2023. As of December 29, there had been 59 reports made for a 13.5% year-over-year increase, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
Complicating efforts to address crime, DPD currently employs only about 3,000 officers, although a City report recommends that a municipality the size of Dallas should have closer to 4,000 to maintain public safety.
The effects of this deficit are most apparent in Downtown Dallas, which regularly logs higher crime rates than Fort Worth’s downtown area, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security guards.