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56
Texas Girl Who Was Kidnapped From Basketball Game Describes Horrors Of Being Held By Traffickers
Natalee Cramer is ready to tell her story more than two years after being kidnapped and held by a gang of sex traffickers. She was abducted in April 2022 when she went to watch a Dallas Mavericks basketball game with her father at age 15.
Trigger warning: sexual abuse, sex trafficking
Theteenager from Dallas, Texas, left her seat at the American Airlines Center without her phone and told her father she was going to the bathroom. At that time, she was having a “craving” for weed she consumed to cope with her anxiety.
Highlights
- Natalee Cramer recounted being kidnapped from a Dallas Mavericks game in 2022 and raped at age 15.
- She was lured by a stranger at the Texas basketball game and held by traffickers, who later took her to a hotel in Oklahoma.
- Natalee's parents used a private investigator to find her; the teen's case led to eight arrests.
“I just walk around, and that’s when I caught that guy’s eye,” Natalee, now 18, recalled during an interview with WFAA. “I told him, ‘I’m just really looking to smoke. Do you smoke?'”
RELATED:
Natalee Cramer opened up about being kidnapped from a basketball game she attended with her father in Dallas, Texas, and subsequently trafficked at a hotel
Image credits: CBS TEXAS
The man replied that he did smoke and offered to give her some marijuana he had in his car that was parked in the garage.
“He didn’t tell me there was anyone else there with him,” she said. “It was just him. He told me we would walk back to his car that was parked in the parking lot…in the garage…and that’s when the second guy came.”
Natalee was forced into the car and taken to a house in North Texas, where theabusers raped her.
Natalee was abducted in a car in April 2022 after speaking with a man at a Dallas Mavericks game in the American Airlines Center
Image credits: CBS TEXAS
“It’s not like a guy with candy in the back of his van, and you just get thrown in the back of the van. It looks like a normal conversation until it’s not.
“You don’t know you’re in danger until you’re in the middle of it, and you don’t know what to do, and you can’t get out.
“There’s no room to judge people because they can’t get out. If they could leave, they would,” the teenager added, responding to those who blamed her for what she has endured.
After multiple days, Natalee was taken toOklahoma, where the abusers left her with another group of criminals who trafficked her at a hotel.
Image credits: CBS TEXAS
She was paralyzed with fear and thought that she would be punished if she tried to escape.
“It clicked for me that I was in danger when I was raped by them. I knew I was in danger by then, but I did not know how to leave because I was scared.
“I could have asked for the phone, but they would have been right there. What was I supposed to do? Even if I had run, where would I go? I didn’t know where I was.”
“It’s not like a guy with candy in the back of his van, and you just get thrown in the back of the van. It looks like a normal conversation until it’s not,” the teen explained
Though she did not want to take a risk by running away, Natalee still hoped that witnesses at the scene wouldreport the case to the police and rescue her.
When she revealed to workers at the hotel that she had been raped, the teen said the staff told her that there wasn’t anything they could do.
“They told me they couldn’t help me. They didn’t know how to help me.
“I was more surprised to see afamily with small children there and they looked me in the eyes and could see that all of these people were older than me and still not say anything.
“The dad of these little children looked at me, and he couldn’t tell at the hotel. [The man who trafficked her] had a whole rifle by his side, and the family just walked on like nothing happened.”
The men who abducted Natalee raped her and drove her to Oklahoma, where they left her with another group who trafficked her at an extended-stay hotel
Image credits: CBS TEXAS
“I was just praying to God. I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore. I need someone. Please send someone.”
That someone was a police officer who identified her when she was walking outside of an apartment complex.
On the night Natalee disappeared, her father, Kyle Morris, was told by a Dallas police officer working at the arena that he had to report the case to the North Richland Hills Police Department, which is more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) away from the game because that is where the family lived.
Her parents were reportedly referred to a private investigator in Houston,Texas, who found photos of Natalee in online sex ads and traced them to Oklahoma City.
Image credits: WFAA
They shared the information with the Oklahoma City Police Department, and officers began conducting the search in the area. Natalee was found eleven days after her disappearance.
“He pulled up next to me, and he’s like, ‘Are you Natalee Cramer?’ and I was like, ‘Yes.'”
Eight people were arrested that day in Oklahoma, two of whom pleaded guilty to trafficking and child porn charges, according toDallas Express. All were later sentenced to time in prison.
Additionally, Natalee’s family filed a lawsuit against the companies that own and manage the extended-stay hotel where she was trafficked, detailing surveillance camera footage showing the 15-year-old victim in the hallway with the armed men.
Surveillance footage from the arena shows Natalee walking with a man before being kidnapped
Image credits: WFAA
Image credits: WFAA
“On one occasion, a hotel employee saw the 15-year-old victim crying in the lobby while two adult men escorted her to their room and yet did nothing,” the family’s attorney, Zeke Fortenberry, claimed in anews release, the outlet reported.
“Other times, men patrolled the hotel hallway with an AK-47 style assault rifle.”
According to the lawsuit, the hotel rented at least two different rooms to 44-year-old Kenneth Nelson, a registered sex offender.
Eleven days after Natalee’s disappearance, eight people were arrested and sentenced to prison
Image credits: FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth
“This is my life, and they have ruined my life. I cannot feel sorry for them because they did not feel sorry for me,” Natalee said about the arrests.
Her family continues to fight for the men whokidnapped the teen in Dallas to be charged and jailed.
Last year, the Dallas County grand jury threw out the charges of sexual assault of a child against 33-year-old Emanual Cartagena, the man accused of luring Natalee away from the game.
“I was extremely upset,” Natalee’s mother, Brooke Morris,expressed.
“Our attorney had additional evidence that he was trying to present to the district attorney’s office in Dallas, and we were outright told in a nutshell, ‘thank you for the additional evidence, but we are not going to be presenting to the grand jury again.'”
Natalee said her memory is enough evidence to confirm what she experienced.
“I can recall all of the things they did. All of the things they were wearing and all of the things they said and did to me. All three of them are guilty, and if I could see all three, I would be able to point them out.”
Natalee and her family started Aisling, a non-profit organization that provides support for survivors of sex trafficking and sexual assault
The family startedAisling, a non-profit organization that provides support and resources for survivors of sex trafficking and sexual assault.
“I want to make a pathway for people to feel comfortable and emotionally safe to talk to people and come forward,” Natalee explained. “If they can’t speak for them, I’m going to speak for them.”
The 18-year-old is working on hermental health in therapy, living on her own, and pursuing her General Educational Development Test (GED).
According to 2022 data from the United Nations, 4.9 million women and girls worldwide are victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation. Estimates suggest that women and girls may constitute up to 80% of persons trafficked globally.
“She was a naive kid. Traffickers took advantage of her,” one reader wrote
What do you think ?
cherry~ 5 months ago
I want to punch the person that said it was her own decisions that are to "blame", like she chose the trafficking!
lenka 5 months ago
Yep because a 15 year child is at fault for the actions of the men who are the perpetrators of this crime. This makes me so angry. She should have been safe to walk anywhere and do anything and make all the mistakes that teens do and not have had to suffer this fate because a group of f*****g perverted men think they are entitled to rape.
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ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
What hurts is the ones not yet found. For every child recovered, how many are being held in awful conditions? We need to be vigilant and pray for the innocent. Also, we need to totally reject predators and their behavior and language, no matter how disguised they are; Donald Trump, Diddy, Epstein, all people with very dark auras and they try to groom us into thinking their words and actions are "normal."
Samsquatch & Monko 5 months ago
Go f-Ck a cactus and go back under the rock you came from and stub your toes every time you move
lenka 5 months ago
Since when was it ok to blame to victim? Since when did we become so used to these atrocities that we are able to just shrug them off so nonchalantly and say oh well, never mind. Next time stay in your seat. She didn't fall over and skin her knee for f***s sake. She was kidnapped and raped for 11 days.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago
She was acting like a 15-year-old, one who has obviously been in an environment where cannabis was available to her and its use normalized. We don't know all of the details of those circumstances, of her mental health status, or any past trauma that may be involved. When I was 15 I wouldn't have recognized the scent of marijuana at all; now it is legal in Canada and I encounter that odor (which I despise) every day. Things have changed. For many young people, cannabis use is simply part of their world, they know adults who do it openly, and some parents allow or even encourage it. Following a stranger into a parking garage wasn't a wise choice, but that's the kind of thing teens do. Nothing about this was her fault.
lenka 5 months ago
By your logic if you are walking around without a helmet on I have the right to smack you in the head with a baseball bat and it would be YOUR FAULT for not wearing a helmet. She could have been high as a kite wandering naked through the stadium for all I care. She should have been safe. No matter what her actions were NOTHING gives those men the right to take her and rape her. NOTHING.
Black Cat 5 months ago
They are never going to stop. Men have always raped and they always will. Pays to treat men accordingly because you won't know until it's too late. If she had viewed this man as a potential rapist as she should have done, she would never have approached him or trusted him. Moral of the story is Men cannot be trusted.
Breadcrumb. 5 months ago (edited)
I understand the lesson because I have lived it but I don't necessarily like this to be the conclusion. If we hold men accountable for rapeing instead of making them lets say president we can change society. It's not her fault some men did horrible things to her.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago
She made dumb decisions, yes. And dumb decisions do put you at increased risk of harm, yes. But if it wasn't her, it would have been some other girl, maybe one without parents who could afford to hire a P.I. to find her. The only ones at fault for what happened were the criminals.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
The commenter who said she "is truly blessed" I want to punch them the f*****g face. It is not truly blessed to be kidnapped, held at gunpoint and raped repeatedly for 11 days.
featherytoad 5 months ago (edited)
I'm sure the person meant truly blessed for having been found. Most of these young girls who are trafficked are never heard from again.
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Binky Melnik 5 months ago
I wanna punch the 🫏🕳️ who called her “foolish.” Fifteen-year-old are foolish BY DEFINITION. It takes a lot more years to get experience, learn, and smarten up. Victim-blaming makes me sick.🤢
WindySwede 5 months ago
totally agree, but also, well the old testamente support having slaves.. 🤢🤢🤢
Nikole 5 months ago
Blessed to repeat this in her head every day and have PTSD, manu? Sure, she lived, but her life will always be colored by this.
Binky Melnik 5 months ago
I think he meant she’s safe NOW. Obviously, she wasn’t safe while she was being trafficked! (And I hate the hotel employees’ guys who said “There’s nothing we can do.” THEY HAVE PHONES; THEY COULDA CALLED THE POLICE! What the hell is wrong with them?! They have NO female relatives, or girlfriends, or EMPATHY?! Good christ; they’re sick.
Ms.GB 5 months ago (edited)
"Her own bad decisions are to blame" The only people to blame are her kidnappers and rapists. There are plenty of victims who were doing nothing more than walking to the store or going to visit the bathroom etc. There are decisions you can make that will make you more vulnerable but by blaming someone for being more vulnerable you are doing nothing but making excuses for rapists and criminals. I'm not saying people shouldn't teach their children to be more aware and to avoid situations that will make them more vulnerable to predators but there is NOTHING she could have done to deserve what happened to her and anyone who thinks otherwise is dangerously close to thinking exactly like the people who did this to her. The more blame you place on ANY victim of kidnapping and S.A. the more ALL victims will be blamed whether or not they were in a vulnerable position...how can people not see this!?
Lyoness 5 months ago
I wish I could update this more than once. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, justifies what happened to this girl. She wasn't "asking for it", what she was wearing didn't matter, what she said didn't matter, the fact that she was looking for smoke didn't matter. She was taken and forced to have sex against her will. She's the victim and it's not her fault. Period.
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BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago
If you still believe that it's the victim's fault, check out this link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Richmond_High_School_gang_rape
lenka 5 months ago
By your logic if you are walking around without a helmet on I have the right to smack you in the head with a baseball bat and it would be YOUR FAULT for not wearing a helmet. She could have been high as a kite wandering naked through the stadium for all I care. She should have been safe. No matter what her actions were NOTHING gives those men the right to take her and rape her. NOTHING.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago
My daughter and I experienced much the same thing, when she was barely 14. She wasn't lured by d***s - for those who can't seem to get past that angle - she accepted an offer of a ride. And yes, she should have known better than to get into a vehicle with someone she didn't really know, but there were contextual reasons she felt safe doing so. She was later drugged by her captors. Luckily, they weren't very bright people - they had her call me, telling me a story to make me think she was consenting to her situation, but I could hear a woman in the background dictating what she was supposed to say. And they didn't block their phone number, which was linked to online ads for s*xual services. So I called back. I hounded them. I made calls from other numbers as a potential customer, trying to track them down. They realized that she wasn't the at-risk kid they had taken her for, with no one to fight for her, and that I wasn't going to give up. After four days, they let her go.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago (edited)
The police were worse than useless. When I reported my 14 year old, Indigenous daughter missing, with evidence that she was being trafficked, the officer asked me, "How do you know she isn't doing this willingly?" I knew, but it shouldn't have mattered - she was too young to consent and being exploited. While she was being held, officers went to the door to inform her captor that she was in violation of a restraining order taken out by a previous victim staying at the same hotel, but didn't look in the room or notice the drugged, current victim. And after she came home, the officers who followed up were clearly only concerned about their own careers - one of them actually said to me, "Do you know how big a case this could be?!" with dollar signs in her eyes, as if her promotion would motivate me. When my daughter was too scared to identify her captors, they threatened to charge her, the 14-year-old victim. Which was when I had to say, we're done here, you can't victimize her again.
Load More Replies... Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago (edited)
Nobody, under any circumstances, deserves what my daughter went through, what the young woman in this story went through. And are they lucky to have survived, sure? But 11 days, or even 4 days, can do a hell of a lot of damage. Trust me, I know.
Juley Clark 5 months ago
Sadly being Native likely was a factor in a lot of the police response to your case :'(
Lyoness 5 months ago
I'm so, so sorry your daughter and you had to go through this. Don't let anyone ever even hint it was her fault, and don't force her to ID anyone if she isn't comfortable with it. It can be just as traumatising as the initial crime. You can trust me on this. And please tell your daughter the pain fades over time. You never forget, but one day you realise it doesn't hurt as much. I hope she's getting the help she needs. Sending hugs from a random Internet stranger.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 5 months ago
I’m so angry at all the “she was dumb/foolish/her fault/bad choices.” She was a CHILD.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago (edited)
Yes, kids do dumb stuff. My aunts started smoking around 13. Most of the smokers I know (current and former) started (had first cig) before 16, all before 20. Weed is commonly viewed as safer than tobacco, so yes, I expect a high percentage of teens have tried weed at least.
Say No to Downvoting 5 months ago
BoredPanda, I think you are utterly disgusting to tagline this article with a random quote from a random a*****e blaming this child for the horrific crimes committed upon her.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago
Why? We need to know these f*****s exist. It is their duty to share the story and the unhinged reactions of some ppl trying to justify this injustice. the tagline showcases some of the unhinged f***s in this world that we need to deal with. Cant put our heads in the ground like ostriches. That is the kind of mentality that perpetuates traffikers...they need to be killed. Or shamed before they become one.
rullyman 5 months ago
While it's really good to highlight a case like this to remind people to be safe (don't go with a stranger to their car), it's worth remembering that the vast majority of sex trafficking is nothing like this. You are much more likely to be pimped our by someone you know, for example a manipulative or abusive boyfriend who then starts getting his friends involved. The podcast You're Wrong About did a great episode on this. Actual kidnappings like this are thankfully very rare
ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
Some children are trafficked by their own parents. What's more horrible than that? How do you escape the people who are supposed to care about you, clothe you, feed you, house you? THIS IS WHY there is no degree of "blame the victim" that is ethical, wise or kind. Trafficking should NOT EXIST, PERIOD. ALL TRAFFICKERS SHOULD BE ERADICATED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
talliloo 5 months ago (edited)
i retired from law enforcement. within the purview of my job i was required to do home visits in areas that were not safe for a lone woman and/or a white person to be in. (no racism meant by that-it was just a fact that any non-person of color was suspect in specific areas.) the 'advise' that was given to me was to do visits before 11am because most of the people in those neighborhoods were either at work or just getting up, meaning not drinking/smoking, etc. i always felt it wasn't very useful. but, the one thing i came across was the phrase: perfect paranoia is perfect awareness. i scoffed at this in the beginning but it saved my butt on several occasions. it's a terrible thing when we want to teach our kids to have compassion & faith in humanity in one breath and then to fear and suspect strangers in the next. this girl was naive but not at fault for her plight. stop the victim blaming.
WonderWoman 5 months ago
Do 15 year olds made stupid decisions - yes, yes they do. Do they deserve to have something so heinous and awful happen to them? No, no they do not. I think we can all agree that she should not have walked with a stranger to their car, nor should she have asked a stranger for weed. I am sure throughout this ordeal this child regrets those decisions. No matter what she did preceding this, she did not deserve to be raped, kidnapped and abused. No one, no matter what you are doing, is justified in raping, holding you against your will and abusing you. Not the clothes you are wearing, not the flirtatious way you speak, not walking to your car - nothing. Shame on those who think she got what she deserved, because she deserved to go home with her dad that night and nothing else.
BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago
I can't believe all the victim-blaming and shaming that's going on here. Do any of you naysayers EVER believe that a ràpe victim is actually a victim? Or do you religiously subscribe to the philosophy of "she was asking for it"? Because if you do, PLEASE explain to me about Jaycee Dugard. How about the woman who was ràped by a Stanford swimmer, while she was intoxicated? Oh yes, let's not forget the high school sophomore who was gang ràped at a homecoming dance back in 2009. No doubt ALL of these individuals, according to YOU, simply should have been at home, wearing hoop skirts, and allowing nothing stronger than Kool-aid to pass their lips. It is my sincere prayer that none of you have the opportunity to serve on a jury in a ràpe trial. The perp would walk for sure. Smmfh......
Juley Clark 5 months ago
Nope none of them were to blame and neither was this girl. BUT A 15 year old should know better than to go off with a stranger. Had she not done that none of it would have happened and in that ONE aspect she is to blame. BUT for everything else she is NOT TO BLAME
Load More Replies... lenka 5 months ago
You stated "A 15 year old should know better than to go off with a stranger." You have just blamed the victim.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago
None of this might have happened to her, but it would have happened to someone. The predator is the one to blame, only and completely. He was looking for a victim.
Mark Childers 5 months ago
I cannot believe all of the victim blaming. No one, NO ONE, is guilty of being assaulted and victimized. Ever. And especially a young girl like this out with her dad. I can't imagine how he handled that.
Beth Wheeler 5 months ago
This child is a victim of kidnapping, rape and sex trafficking of a minor. How in the hell is this her fault? Do any of these idiots really think she wanted to go through that torture of being repeatedly raped? After she told somebody at the hotel they said they couldn't help her, what is wrong with these people? If I was a hotel employee and was told this I would hide her in another room or sneak her out and call 911 immediately! She is going to need therapy for a long time and I hope and pray they put the others under the jail before they can do this to somebody else. How would you feel if this was your daughter or sister? STOP BLAMING VICTIMS
BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago (edited)
Back in the 1920's, young women were told that if they were out walking in public and suddenly felt a sharp sting like a pinprick, they were to find a cop IMMEDIATELY. That was because white slavery was so prevalent, procurers were literally snatching their victims off the street in broad daylight. Nowadays, they are much more subtle and sophisticated. It can be as simple as going to a house party where someone is taking pictures. Those pictures are posted online to a website on the dark web, or even Craigslist. In other words, the victim can literally be sold without their knowledge. All it takes is something slipped into a drink, and the victim is given a "ride home," which actually ends up being a "lockbox." Being sex trafficked is not necessarily the victim's fault. So knock it off.
ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
And air tags. Apple tags to find your things - guess how they were first used? To track women back to their homes. There is NO REASON, NONE to ever blame the victim. It is unwise, and enabling of evil.
kate h 5 months ago (edited)
WTAF BP??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are more and more negative articles getting reposted here, a site that most of us probably come for a little light hearted fare. I find it ESPECIALLY ironic and ridiculous that innocuous words are regularly digitally bleeped but this article says räped many times.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago
Trafficking is one of the things that i do not see redemption from. It is such an evil that my mind is not able to process it even begin to understand, fathom,comprehend or grasp how a human can do such a thing to another human. Jail rehabilitation or similar things are not the processes that can deal with people who do it. The only one pass i can give if for the people enslaved as children themselves who were programmed via abuse. Basically made into puppets so the moral cost is on the people/org who made them that way. Other than that specific case. Every person who participates in human trafficking needs to die. Kidnapping,Selling and Buying people. If you do that you are not human. Jails means nothing as a deterrent as it is primarily for rehabilitation. The only thing i assume would stop such an inhuman thing from doing that is if they knew they would die if they did. To think those are "cultural traditions" in some places to groom and sell your own kids... Ughh..
Lyoness 5 months ago
While I agree with almost everything you've said, I have to respectfully disagree on the "pass". I have a feeling this is just a terminology disagreement but I'm going to nitpick on the language because this is such an important issue. Being abused is NEVER a justification for abusing others. It many be an explanation, but never an excuse. So while it may seem understandable if a victim of trafficking continues the cycle of abuse, that obviously doesn't make it ok, and they should NOT be given a pass.
Load More Replies... Ben Aziza 5 months ago
What you said applies more to the ppl who do that as part of their "cultural heritage" People who were traded as kids.Have kids of their own and trade them too... Look up the story of the Turkish photographer who beat the "groom" he was hired to take wedding photos of... It seems that isolated sects of all sorts religious or classist all have this type of disturbing cycles of abuse you mentioned. It is not just religious country folk. Like the case of diddy. He abused Usher for that guy to send Bieber his way for the same kind of abuse... I don't understand that. So many ppl have to comply for that to happen. Even then so many victims reported it. 50cent and Eminem have been vocal about it for years! If the police and ppl that rich and powerful cant stop it. It means ALOT equally as powerful benefit of that abuse and those who keep cycling it were in that Hollywood sect. I am glad the Diddler was caught. The funny name at least brings some levity to this horrible reality.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago (edited)
You are right in wanting details. I am talking about cases where abuse goes so far it becomes conditioning. The word i used is programming that turns ppl into puppets. So it is not really perpetuating a cycle if you are robot that lost their humanity by the actions of others. Think of the child soldiers for example. I cant blame them. Some ppl are done awful things by these orgs. Kidnapped themselves they get addicted to d***s and beaten until they cant think anymore... They cant run away as they are entirely dependent on the d***s. It is like what some circuses do to the predatory animals... Look what goes into making a lion dance... Now apply that to a human. That is why i say i can give them a pass as it is not longer a choice or a voluntary choice at that point.
Gabby M 5 months ago
Sighs, not that I am looking for downvotes here BUT passing on info I was taught my whole life from my mother 1960's era... (at 13 I was able to avoid being abducted because of my mom's teachings) parents today NEED to inform their children of ALL the horrors out there that can and could possibly affect them or their friends. BE AWARE, BE CAREFUL, BE ALERT!!! If this child was taught properly of all the possible dangers that face them DAILY in today's society it can only HELP them protect themselves!!! Be AWARE, Be CAUTIOUS, Be SUSPECTING!!! It's a horrible time to be a child/teen .... but PLEASE 🎶 "Teach your children well" 🎶!!!! Stop living in the "it can't happen to me" because it most certainly CAN and DOES!!!!
WonderWoman 5 months ago
Teens tend to think think they omnipotent and bad stuff only happens to other people. Also we can't live life afraid of our own shadows.
Shane S 5 months ago
I’m really surprised most of the convicted were women. It’s sad women would do this to other women.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
I am not sure if it is the case in this particular scenario, but would like to point out that women perpetrators are often victims of trafficking themselves. Long term trafficked women are used to manage the new girls and are coerced into participating through threats of violence, rape and death. They are often the ones left serving jail time when their pimps/owners abandon them.
AR 5 months ago
She didn’t deserve to be raped, but WTF was she thinking going up to strangers and asking for weed? Didn’t her parents teach her not to trust strangers? At 15 I never would’ve just gone off with strangers.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
WTF are we talking about what she "deserved". To deserve something is to earn it because of something she did. It's a merits based word that should NEVER EVER be used when referring to a victim. Even saying she did 'not deserve it' implies that possibly... she could have done something in which she DID "deserve' to be kidnapped and raped. This language about the victim did or did not deserve is inappropriate. Lets apply the same language to the perpetrators.... They DID NOT "deserve" to take her and rape her (See how ridiculous that sounds). What they do 'deserve' is to have their d***s cut off and then denied running water and medical treatment.
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lenka 5 months ago (edited)
Why are we talking about what she "deserved". To deserve something is to earn it because of something she did. It should NEVER EVER be used when referring to a victim. Even saying she did 'not deserve it' implies that possibly... she could have done something in which she DID "deserve' to be kidnapped and raped. This language about what the victim did or did not 'deserve' is inappropriate.
Load More Replies... ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
I love your compassion. But try not to let the unwise, the unworthy and the un-compassionate troll you. What they're saying here is nonsense, and they know it. But if you let it rile you, then they think that there's justification for their POV. There's no justifying, no excusing: trafficking, victim-blaming or callousness.
CP 5 months ago
Wait are you defending trafficking? That would be the devil's advocate take. You seem to the worst person ever born.
Load More Replies... lenka 5 months ago
No, we can't because it's not a f*****g game to us. There are no other perspectives. Girls get raped asleep in their bed. They get raped wearing pajamas, work uniforms, school uniforms, jeans and sweaters, they get raped stone cold sober, they get raped in taxis, parks, schools, offices, stadiums, hotels and in their own f*****g homes. NOTHING a woman and especially nothing a CHILD ever does should ever make a difference. The only people to blame for rape are the MEN WHO RAPE and the only way to prevent rape is for MEN TO STOP RAPING.
WonderWoman 5 months ago
LETTING YOUR DAUGHTERS?????????????????????? SMDH lori, NOTHING this child did justified her being kidnapped, raped and abused. NOTHING. She did not cause this. Stop blaming the victim.
Ghostpotato 5 months ago (edited)
This time it was the promise of weed, another time it might have been asking a helpful teen for directions "I tried using my gps but it says this way not that way, here take a look". They'll find a way to get victims regardless, lets not play "holier than thou" and blame the victim.
Load More Replies... Samsquatch & Monko 5 months ago
Manu I hope someone finds you and makes you toes get caught in an escalator and you get victim shamed 🤩🤩🤩🤩🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
OneWithRatsAndKefir 5 months ago
Yeah, everyone was fifteen once… but EVERY generation had those kids that would dabble with the illicit substances for any number of reasons, legitimate or not, so ‘we’ didn’t ‘all’ go play MineCraft. It also didn’t mention that she was dependent or addicted, just using it to manage anxiety.
Tamra 5 months ago
While I agree that she made some poor choices, I hardly think a 15 year old child "only has herself to blame" with regard to substance abuse. There's more to this story.
cherry~ 5 months ago
I want to punch the person that said it was her own decisions that are to "blame", like she chose the trafficking!
lenka 5 months ago
Yep because a 15 year child is at fault for the actions of the men who are the perpetrators of this crime. This makes me so angry. She should have been safe to walk anywhere and do anything and make all the mistakes that teens do and not have had to suffer this fate because a group of f*****g perverted men think they are entitled to rape.
Load More Replies... ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
What hurts is the ones not yet found. For every child recovered, how many are being held in awful conditions? We need to be vigilant and pray for the innocent. Also, we need to totally reject predators and their behavior and language, no matter how disguised they are; Donald Trump, Diddy, Epstein, all people with very dark auras and they try to groom us into thinking their words and actions are "normal."
Samsquatch & Monko 5 months ago
Go f-Ck a cactus and go back under the rock you came from and stub your toes every time you move
lenka 5 months ago
Since when was it ok to blame to victim? Since when did we become so used to these atrocities that we are able to just shrug them off so nonchalantly and say oh well, never mind. Next time stay in your seat. She didn't fall over and skin her knee for f***s sake. She was kidnapped and raped for 11 days.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago
She was acting like a 15-year-old, one who has obviously been in an environment where cannabis was available to her and its use normalized. We don't know all of the details of those circumstances, of her mental health status, or any past trauma that may be involved. When I was 15 I wouldn't have recognized the scent of marijuana at all; now it is legal in Canada and I encounter that odor (which I despise) every day. Things have changed. For many young people, cannabis use is simply part of their world, they know adults who do it openly, and some parents allow or even encourage it. Following a stranger into a parking garage wasn't a wise choice, but that's the kind of thing teens do. Nothing about this was her fault.
lenka 5 months ago
By your logic if you are walking around without a helmet on I have the right to smack you in the head with a baseball bat and it would be YOUR FAULT for not wearing a helmet. She could have been high as a kite wandering naked through the stadium for all I care. She should have been safe. No matter what her actions were NOTHING gives those men the right to take her and rape her. NOTHING.
Black Cat 5 months ago
They are never going to stop. Men have always raped and they always will. Pays to treat men accordingly because you won't know until it's too late. If she had viewed this man as a potential rapist as she should have done, she would never have approached him or trusted him. Moral of the story is Men cannot be trusted.
Breadcrumb. 5 months ago (edited)
I understand the lesson because I have lived it but I don't necessarily like this to be the conclusion. If we hold men accountable for rapeing instead of making them lets say president we can change society. It's not her fault some men did horrible things to her.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago
She made dumb decisions, yes. And dumb decisions do put you at increased risk of harm, yes. But if it wasn't her, it would have been some other girl, maybe one without parents who could afford to hire a P.I. to find her. The only ones at fault for what happened were the criminals.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
The commenter who said she "is truly blessed" I want to punch them the f*****g face. It is not truly blessed to be kidnapped, held at gunpoint and raped repeatedly for 11 days.
featherytoad 5 months ago (edited)
I'm sure the person meant truly blessed for having been found. Most of these young girls who are trafficked are never heard from again.
Load More Replies... Binky Melnik 5 months ago
I wanna punch the 🫏🕳️ who called her “foolish.” Fifteen-year-old are foolish BY DEFINITION. It takes a lot more years to get experience, learn, and smarten up. Victim-blaming makes me sick.🤢
WindySwede 5 months ago
totally agree, but also, well the old testamente support having slaves.. 🤢🤢🤢
Nikole 5 months ago
Blessed to repeat this in her head every day and have PTSD, manu? Sure, she lived, but her life will always be colored by this.
Binky Melnik 5 months ago
I think he meant she’s safe NOW. Obviously, she wasn’t safe while she was being trafficked! (And I hate the hotel employees’ guys who said “There’s nothing we can do.” THEY HAVE PHONES; THEY COULDA CALLED THE POLICE! What the hell is wrong with them?! They have NO female relatives, or girlfriends, or EMPATHY?! Good christ; they’re sick.
Ms.GB 5 months ago (edited)
"Her own bad decisions are to blame" The only people to blame are her kidnappers and rapists. There are plenty of victims who were doing nothing more than walking to the store or going to visit the bathroom etc. There are decisions you can make that will make you more vulnerable but by blaming someone for being more vulnerable you are doing nothing but making excuses for rapists and criminals. I'm not saying people shouldn't teach their children to be more aware and to avoid situations that will make them more vulnerable to predators but there is NOTHING she could have done to deserve what happened to her and anyone who thinks otherwise is dangerously close to thinking exactly like the people who did this to her. The more blame you place on ANY victim of kidnapping and S.A. the more ALL victims will be blamed whether or not they were in a vulnerable position...how can people not see this!?
Lyoness 5 months ago
I wish I could update this more than once. Nothing, I repeat NOTHING, justifies what happened to this girl. She wasn't "asking for it", what she was wearing didn't matter, what she said didn't matter, the fact that she was looking for smoke didn't matter. She was taken and forced to have sex against her will. She's the victim and it's not her fault. Period.
Load More Replies... BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago
If you still believe that it's the victim's fault, check out this link: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_Richmond_High_School_gang_rape
lenka 5 months ago
By your logic if you are walking around without a helmet on I have the right to smack you in the head with a baseball bat and it would be YOUR FAULT for not wearing a helmet. She could have been high as a kite wandering naked through the stadium for all I care. She should have been safe. No matter what her actions were NOTHING gives those men the right to take her and rape her. NOTHING.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago
My daughter and I experienced much the same thing, when she was barely 14. She wasn't lured by d***s - for those who can't seem to get past that angle - she accepted an offer of a ride. And yes, she should have known better than to get into a vehicle with someone she didn't really know, but there were contextual reasons she felt safe doing so. She was later drugged by her captors. Luckily, they weren't very bright people - they had her call me, telling me a story to make me think she was consenting to her situation, but I could hear a woman in the background dictating what she was supposed to say. And they didn't block their phone number, which was linked to online ads for s*xual services. So I called back. I hounded them. I made calls from other numbers as a potential customer, trying to track them down. They realized that she wasn't the at-risk kid they had taken her for, with no one to fight for her, and that I wasn't going to give up. After four days, they let her go.
Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago (edited)
The police were worse than useless. When I reported my 14 year old, Indigenous daughter missing, with evidence that she was being trafficked, the officer asked me, "How do you know she isn't doing this willingly?" I knew, but it shouldn't have mattered - she was too young to consent and being exploited. While she was being held, officers went to the door to inform her captor that she was in violation of a restraining order taken out by a previous victim staying at the same hotel, but didn't look in the room or notice the drugged, current victim. And after she came home, the officers who followed up were clearly only concerned about their own careers - one of them actually said to me, "Do you know how big a case this could be?!" with dollar signs in her eyes, as if her promotion would motivate me. When my daughter was too scared to identify her captors, they threatened to charge her, the 14-year-old victim. Which was when I had to say, we're done here, you can't victimize her again.
Load More Replies... Elladine DesIsles 5 months ago (edited)
Nobody, under any circumstances, deserves what my daughter went through, what the young woman in this story went through. And are they lucky to have survived, sure? But 11 days, or even 4 days, can do a hell of a lot of damage. Trust me, I know.
Juley Clark 5 months ago
Sadly being Native likely was a factor in a lot of the police response to your case :'(
Lyoness 5 months ago
I'm so, so sorry your daughter and you had to go through this. Don't let anyone ever even hint it was her fault, and don't force her to ID anyone if she isn't comfortable with it. It can be just as traumatising as the initial crime. You can trust me on this. And please tell your daughter the pain fades over time. You never forget, but one day you realise it doesn't hurt as much. I hope she's getting the help she needs. Sending hugs from a random Internet stranger.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 5 months ago
I’m so angry at all the “she was dumb/foolish/her fault/bad choices.” She was a CHILD.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago (edited)
Yes, kids do dumb stuff. My aunts started smoking around 13. Most of the smokers I know (current and former) started (had first cig) before 16, all before 20. Weed is commonly viewed as safer than tobacco, so yes, I expect a high percentage of teens have tried weed at least.
Say No to Downvoting 5 months ago
BoredPanda, I think you are utterly disgusting to tagline this article with a random quote from a random a*****e blaming this child for the horrific crimes committed upon her.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago
Why? We need to know these f*****s exist. It is their duty to share the story and the unhinged reactions of some ppl trying to justify this injustice. the tagline showcases some of the unhinged f***s in this world that we need to deal with. Cant put our heads in the ground like ostriches. That is the kind of mentality that perpetuates traffikers...they need to be killed. Or shamed before they become one.
rullyman 5 months ago
While it's really good to highlight a case like this to remind people to be safe (don't go with a stranger to their car), it's worth remembering that the vast majority of sex trafficking is nothing like this. You are much more likely to be pimped our by someone you know, for example a manipulative or abusive boyfriend who then starts getting his friends involved. The podcast You're Wrong About did a great episode on this. Actual kidnappings like this are thankfully very rare
ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
Some children are trafficked by their own parents. What's more horrible than that? How do you escape the people who are supposed to care about you, clothe you, feed you, house you? THIS IS WHY there is no degree of "blame the victim" that is ethical, wise or kind. Trafficking should NOT EXIST, PERIOD. ALL TRAFFICKERS SHOULD BE ERADICATED WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
talliloo 5 months ago (edited)
i retired from law enforcement. within the purview of my job i was required to do home visits in areas that were not safe for a lone woman and/or a white person to be in. (no racism meant by that-it was just a fact that any non-person of color was suspect in specific areas.) the 'advise' that was given to me was to do visits before 11am because most of the people in those neighborhoods were either at work or just getting up, meaning not drinking/smoking, etc. i always felt it wasn't very useful. but, the one thing i came across was the phrase: perfect paranoia is perfect awareness. i scoffed at this in the beginning but it saved my butt on several occasions. it's a terrible thing when we want to teach our kids to have compassion & faith in humanity in one breath and then to fear and suspect strangers in the next. this girl was naive but not at fault for her plight. stop the victim blaming.
WonderWoman 5 months ago
Do 15 year olds made stupid decisions - yes, yes they do. Do they deserve to have something so heinous and awful happen to them? No, no they do not. I think we can all agree that she should not have walked with a stranger to their car, nor should she have asked a stranger for weed. I am sure throughout this ordeal this child regrets those decisions. No matter what she did preceding this, she did not deserve to be raped, kidnapped and abused. No one, no matter what you are doing, is justified in raping, holding you against your will and abusing you. Not the clothes you are wearing, not the flirtatious way you speak, not walking to your car - nothing. Shame on those who think she got what she deserved, because she deserved to go home with her dad that night and nothing else.
BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago
I can't believe all the victim-blaming and shaming that's going on here. Do any of you naysayers EVER believe that a ràpe victim is actually a victim? Or do you religiously subscribe to the philosophy of "she was asking for it"? Because if you do, PLEASE explain to me about Jaycee Dugard. How about the woman who was ràped by a Stanford swimmer, while she was intoxicated? Oh yes, let's not forget the high school sophomore who was gang ràped at a homecoming dance back in 2009. No doubt ALL of these individuals, according to YOU, simply should have been at home, wearing hoop skirts, and allowing nothing stronger than Kool-aid to pass their lips. It is my sincere prayer that none of you have the opportunity to serve on a jury in a ràpe trial. The perp would walk for sure. Smmfh......
Juley Clark 5 months ago
Nope none of them were to blame and neither was this girl. BUT A 15 year old should know better than to go off with a stranger. Had she not done that none of it would have happened and in that ONE aspect she is to blame. BUT for everything else she is NOT TO BLAME
Load More Replies... lenka 5 months ago
You stated "A 15 year old should know better than to go off with a stranger." You have just blamed the victim.
Squirrelly Panda 5 months ago
None of this might have happened to her, but it would have happened to someone. The predator is the one to blame, only and completely. He was looking for a victim.
Mark Childers 5 months ago
I cannot believe all of the victim blaming. No one, NO ONE, is guilty of being assaulted and victimized. Ever. And especially a young girl like this out with her dad. I can't imagine how he handled that.
Beth Wheeler 5 months ago
This child is a victim of kidnapping, rape and sex trafficking of a minor. How in the hell is this her fault? Do any of these idiots really think she wanted to go through that torture of being repeatedly raped? After she told somebody at the hotel they said they couldn't help her, what is wrong with these people? If I was a hotel employee and was told this I would hide her in another room or sneak her out and call 911 immediately! She is going to need therapy for a long time and I hope and pray they put the others under the jail before they can do this to somebody else. How would you feel if this was your daughter or sister? STOP BLAMING VICTIMS
BrownEyedPanda 5 months ago (edited)
Back in the 1920's, young women were told that if they were out walking in public and suddenly felt a sharp sting like a pinprick, they were to find a cop IMMEDIATELY. That was because white slavery was so prevalent, procurers were literally snatching their victims off the street in broad daylight. Nowadays, they are much more subtle and sophisticated. It can be as simple as going to a house party where someone is taking pictures. Those pictures are posted online to a website on the dark web, or even Craigslist. In other words, the victim can literally be sold without their knowledge. All it takes is something slipped into a drink, and the victim is given a "ride home," which actually ends up being a "lockbox." Being sex trafficked is not necessarily the victim's fault. So knock it off.
ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
And air tags. Apple tags to find your things - guess how they were first used? To track women back to their homes. There is NO REASON, NONE to ever blame the victim. It is unwise, and enabling of evil.
kate h 5 months ago (edited)
WTAF BP??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are more and more negative articles getting reposted here, a site that most of us probably come for a little light hearted fare. I find it ESPECIALLY ironic and ridiculous that innocuous words are regularly digitally bleeped but this article says räped many times.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago
Trafficking is one of the things that i do not see redemption from. It is such an evil that my mind is not able to process it even begin to understand, fathom,comprehend or grasp how a human can do such a thing to another human. Jail rehabilitation or similar things are not the processes that can deal with people who do it. The only one pass i can give if for the people enslaved as children themselves who were programmed via abuse. Basically made into puppets so the moral cost is on the people/org who made them that way. Other than that specific case. Every person who participates in human trafficking needs to die. Kidnapping,Selling and Buying people. If you do that you are not human. Jails means nothing as a deterrent as it is primarily for rehabilitation. The only thing i assume would stop such an inhuman thing from doing that is if they knew they would die if they did. To think those are "cultural traditions" in some places to groom and sell your own kids... Ughh..
Lyoness 5 months ago
While I agree with almost everything you've said, I have to respectfully disagree on the "pass". I have a feeling this is just a terminology disagreement but I'm going to nitpick on the language because this is such an important issue. Being abused is NEVER a justification for abusing others. It many be an explanation, but never an excuse. So while it may seem understandable if a victim of trafficking continues the cycle of abuse, that obviously doesn't make it ok, and they should NOT be given a pass.
Load More Replies... Ben Aziza 5 months ago
What you said applies more to the ppl who do that as part of their "cultural heritage" People who were traded as kids.Have kids of their own and trade them too... Look up the story of the Turkish photographer who beat the "groom" he was hired to take wedding photos of... It seems that isolated sects of all sorts religious or classist all have this type of disturbing cycles of abuse you mentioned. It is not just religious country folk. Like the case of diddy. He abused Usher for that guy to send Bieber his way for the same kind of abuse... I don't understand that. So many ppl have to comply for that to happen. Even then so many victims reported it. 50cent and Eminem have been vocal about it for years! If the police and ppl that rich and powerful cant stop it. It means ALOT equally as powerful benefit of that abuse and those who keep cycling it were in that Hollywood sect. I am glad the Diddler was caught. The funny name at least brings some levity to this horrible reality.
Ben Aziza 5 months ago (edited)
You are right in wanting details. I am talking about cases where abuse goes so far it becomes conditioning. The word i used is programming that turns ppl into puppets. So it is not really perpetuating a cycle if you are robot that lost their humanity by the actions of others. Think of the child soldiers for example. I cant blame them. Some ppl are done awful things by these orgs. Kidnapped themselves they get addicted to d***s and beaten until they cant think anymore... They cant run away as they are entirely dependent on the d***s. It is like what some circuses do to the predatory animals... Look what goes into making a lion dance... Now apply that to a human. That is why i say i can give them a pass as it is not longer a choice or a voluntary choice at that point.
Gabby M 5 months ago
Sighs, not that I am looking for downvotes here BUT passing on info I was taught my whole life from my mother 1960's era... (at 13 I was able to avoid being abducted because of my mom's teachings) parents today NEED to inform their children of ALL the horrors out there that can and could possibly affect them or their friends. BE AWARE, BE CAREFUL, BE ALERT!!! If this child was taught properly of all the possible dangers that face them DAILY in today's society it can only HELP them protect themselves!!! Be AWARE, Be CAUTIOUS, Be SUSPECTING!!! It's a horrible time to be a child/teen .... but PLEASE 🎶 "Teach your children well" 🎶!!!! Stop living in the "it can't happen to me" because it most certainly CAN and DOES!!!!
WonderWoman 5 months ago
Teens tend to think think they omnipotent and bad stuff only happens to other people. Also we can't live life afraid of our own shadows.
Shane S 5 months ago
I’m really surprised most of the convicted were women. It’s sad women would do this to other women.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
I am not sure if it is the case in this particular scenario, but would like to point out that women perpetrators are often victims of trafficking themselves. Long term trafficked women are used to manage the new girls and are coerced into participating through threats of violence, rape and death. They are often the ones left serving jail time when their pimps/owners abandon them.
AR 5 months ago
She didn’t deserve to be raped, but WTF was she thinking going up to strangers and asking for weed? Didn’t her parents teach her not to trust strangers? At 15 I never would’ve just gone off with strangers.
lenka 5 months ago (edited)
WTF are we talking about what she "deserved". To deserve something is to earn it because of something she did. It's a merits based word that should NEVER EVER be used when referring to a victim. Even saying she did 'not deserve it' implies that possibly... she could have done something in which she DID "deserve' to be kidnapped and raped. This language about the victim did or did not deserve is inappropriate. Lets apply the same language to the perpetrators.... They DID NOT "deserve" to take her and rape her (See how ridiculous that sounds). What they do 'deserve' is to have their d***s cut off and then denied running water and medical treatment.
Load More Replies... lenka 5 months ago (edited)
Why are we talking about what she "deserved". To deserve something is to earn it because of something she did. It should NEVER EVER be used when referring to a victim. Even saying she did 'not deserve it' implies that possibly... she could have done something in which she DID "deserve' to be kidnapped and raped. This language about what the victim did or did not 'deserve' is inappropriate.
Load More Replies... ValdaDeDieu 5 months ago
I love your compassion. But try not to let the unwise, the unworthy and the un-compassionate troll you. What they're saying here is nonsense, and they know it. But if you let it rile you, then they think that there's justification for their POV. There's no justifying, no excusing: trafficking, victim-blaming or callousness.
CP 5 months ago
Wait are you defending trafficking? That would be the devil's advocate take. You seem to the worst person ever born.
Load More Replies... lenka 5 months ago
No, we can't because it's not a f*****g game to us. There are no other perspectives. Girls get raped asleep in their bed. They get raped wearing pajamas, work uniforms, school uniforms, jeans and sweaters, they get raped stone cold sober, they get raped in taxis, parks, schools, offices, stadiums, hotels and in their own f*****g homes. NOTHING a woman and especially nothing a CHILD ever does should ever make a difference. The only people to blame for rape are the MEN WHO RAPE and the only way to prevent rape is for MEN TO STOP RAPING.
WonderWoman 5 months ago
LETTING YOUR DAUGHTERS?????????????????????? SMDH lori, NOTHING this child did justified her being kidnapped, raped and abused. NOTHING. She did not cause this. Stop blaming the victim.
Ghostpotato 5 months ago (edited)
This time it was the promise of weed, another time it might have been asking a helpful teen for directions "I tried using my gps but it says this way not that way, here take a look". They'll find a way to get victims regardless, lets not play "holier than thou" and blame the victim.
Load More Replies... Samsquatch & Monko 5 months ago
Manu I hope someone finds you and makes you toes get caught in an escalator and you get victim shamed 🤩🤩🤩🤩🌈🌈🌈🌈🌈🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
OneWithRatsAndKefir 5 months ago
Yeah, everyone was fifteen once… but EVERY generation had those kids that would dabble with the illicit substances for any number of reasons, legitimate or not, so ‘we’ didn’t ‘all’ go play MineCraft. It also didn’t mention that she was dependent or addicted, just using it to manage anxiety.
Tamra 5 months ago
While I agree that she made some poor choices, I hardly think a 15 year old child "only has herself to blame" with regard to substance abuse. There's more to this story.
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