Texas Teenager's Parents Speak Out on Sex Trafficking Case from Mavericks Game
June 18, 2022
The parents of a 15-year-old Texas girl who went missing from a Dallas Mavericks game in April and was allegedly sex-trafficked publicly spoke about the case Saturday.
In an interview with ESPN and Good Morning America, Kyle and Brooke Morris discussed what happened to their daughter and stressed the importance of bringing awareness to the dangers of sex trafficking.
Kyle Morris, who is the girl's stepfather, detailed what happened during an April 8 game between the Mavs and Portland Trail Blazers at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Morris said the girl went to the bathroom before halftime of the game but didn't return, prompting him to notify security. He added that the girl didn't have her phone or ID with her, complicating matters.
He was later informed that security footage showed his stepdaughter leaving the game with an unidentified man.
Though the family's attorney said the girl didn't appear to leave by force, she was allegedly abused in the 10 days before she was found walking along the side of the road in Oklahoma City.
The girl's parents said she was "sexually assaulted multiple times, starved and not allowed to bathe" after being taken to an Oklahoma City hotel.
During the interview with ESPN and Good Morning America, Kyle Morris said: "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."
Brooke Morris added that her daughter told her she met several other girls in the same situation during her harrowing experience in Oklahoma, "And she said, 'I wonder how long they have been in this life, but no one looked for them.'"
Kyle Morris mentioned that the Mavericks were helpful in the investigation and that Mavs governor Mark Cuban quickly replied to an email he sent him and got him in contact with people who could help.
Three people were initially arrested in connection with the girl's disappearance after police searched a hotel room in Oklahoma City, and the girl was found three days later.