North Texas girl sex trafficked from a Dallas Mavericks game shares her story of survival: "I'm not afraid."
Posted by ratfink_111@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 78 comments
MoeWanchuk@reddit
The DA dropped the charges against those involved? WTF?
hot_rod_kimble@reddit
Dallas county just fucked up Cartagena's case, which in and of itself is absolutely inexcusable. Luckily, Oklahoma popped the rest of them on all kinds of charges, two are already serving time.
Apparently a Texas grand jury needs 9 of 12 votes to indict a case and the evidence presented to them against Cartagena didn't get enough votes from the jurors. From what I've read, Dallas county just didn't have the resources/priority to gather much more evidence than the surveillance video of the child leaving with him. It's all so frustrating.
chrishnrh57@reddit
I mean to be fair they're really busy. Honestly busting a kidnapping an international sex trafficking ring is a pretty low priority, you know?
I mean, people are out there smoking marijuana for Christ's sake. There's bigger problems.
FalcoSlay@reddit
Dallas County is not messing with marijuana right now. There are weed pop up events happening wvery weekend in Dallas rn and they arent soing anything about it. Some right down the street from DPD HQ
txbambam1213@reddit
they booked me for < 2oz in march.
Civas_@reddit
Where ? Gotta stay away from there … for my safety you know
FalcoSlay@reddit
Ask your people in the Dallas scene about pop ups/events. I guarantee someone will know
Ok-Wheel9301@reddit
I don't think anyone smoking weed is a huge problem compared to sex trafficking! Alcohol is a much bigger problem. Just because it's legal doesn't mean it is not deadly!
Distinct-Factor-4078@reddit
Low priority?!
TopFishing5094@reddit
It’s sarcasm
Fluffy-Imagination51@reddit
Definitely! Don’t forget there’s people using the HOV lane with 1 person and homeless people being homeless, it’s madness out here. Sex trafficking minors is nothing.
Critical_Thinker_81@reddit
She left voluntarily, she wanted to have a good time smoking a joint
Then things turned bad
VirtualPlate8451@reddit
I genuinely wonder how they staff grand juries with anything but retirees. What productive adult can just slap the pause button on their job for 90 days?
One_Salamander_9701@reddit
Every job I've had as a "productive adult" has jury leave.
VirtualPlate8451@reddit
Try getting it self employed where your income relies on people being able to reach you during business hours.
I currently work for a massive global company and I think I get like 3 paid days before I have to start using PTO for jury duty.
dan1361@reddit
I opened my business five months ago and got hit with jury duty on a case that took a few days just a couple months in. Really fucked up my entire operation in the middle of my busy season. Lost revenue estimates around $80-120k. That's a ton of money for a new business. Sucked.
ExplanationMajestic@reddit
Not "grand jury" leave. That's voluntary and I'm guessing mostly retired people or people who never worked. Must agree to serve 90 days and get paid $20 first day $58 a day for the rest of them. So that leaves a pretty small segment of the population who can do that. Also on their website says DA office handles about 60,000 cases in Dallas county a year.
One_Salamander_9701@reddit
Oh, sorry! I had no idea grand juries were voluntary! That's wild.
Phyrnosoma@reddit
They have to let you but they don’t have to pay you and it’s been about 50/50 for me
Skinny_Phoenix@reddit
It's legally required but realistically most will do anything to get out of it since your employer probably won't pay you for months. When I was called for jury duty it was specifically mentioned that they were looking for folks with 3 months of spare time to serve on a grand jury.
discordianfarmer@reddit
Dallas county grand juries convene for several months at a time and basically rubber stamp anything brought in front of them
Grand juries are not like a "jury of your peers" selected for a specific trial. They come in and work with the DAs every single day, it's a working relationship, not a trial type present evidence and deliberate on a case
I learned all this about how Dallas works from Grand Jury indictment to trying the case recently
eyannio@reddit
Shocking but true: indictments and convictions require evidence, at least sometimes.
BeastieGurl@reddit
They are all in cahoots. D Magazine featured Wade Emmert on the cover recently as "Best Lawyer". This person is married to a lady who ran a "private school" in Cedar Hill called Ashley's Private School and they had "teachers" falsely reporting to CPS as some of the student's parents were in the law firm. I took them to court and the school was shut down immediately/permanently and they closed down the law firm briefly only to re-open said law firm in a new name and the school re-opened as a "daycare" now. Children are being trafficked out of schools now. Please be very careful. This is a mafia. Fact check me. "School" was in Cedar Hill. This is a big ring. The Judge in the case was Marilea Lewis. She is dirty af. She also was featured in D Magazine. I'm risking my safety by sharing this, but being stalked since 2010, running, terrified, and thinking it will eventually end. It doesn't. There are other parents and children. Plz help. Also, APD and Howard Rosenstein, former criminal defense attorney, now practicing in children's cases was part of this nasty ring. His office is conveniently located on Abrams, next to APD, and he is coincidentally a former police officer. Please protect our children and who knows what else they are doing. Thank you for reading. Plz be proactive. There are many victims.
llusty1@reddit
I guess they are now encouraging vigilante justice?
AffectionateKey7126@reddit
A grand jury no billed it.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/jury-chooses-not-to-indict-man-accused-luring-assaulting-teen-trafficking-victim-from-dallas-mavericks-game/287-66f34c23-026d-4ae9-aa6d-8102d9110450
Kathw13@reddit
Not surprised. Have been on a grand jury in Dallas county and there were several cases where juveniles were sexually assaulted by older people and the grand jury voted to “No Bill”. Quite frustrating as the votes weren’t even close.
calm--cool@reddit
What does “no billed” mean? Also that’s surprising, I naively would assume jurors would be more harsh on pedos…
b_reezy4242@reddit
“What does no billed mean?!?”” A You really don’t know??
Also, I’d like to know what it means…
miketag8337@reddit
True bill = indictment and case move forward No bill = case is dropped
masta@reddit
Google is your friend...
https://www.dozalaw.com/no-bill-by-a-grand-jury/
spacedman_spiff@reddit
The case was not indicted and the record of the arrest can be expunged (erased).
Kathw13@reddit
No bill means that the case will be dropped. And you would think, but they victim blame in the case I heard. I did not hear this case and I don’t know what was presented by the prosecutor but I wasn’t surprised.
LegalizeMilkPls@reddit
Moral of the story: don’t let your minor child leave your sight at big events.
Successful_Cook3532@reddit
What about minors being killed in Palestine in plain sight everyday while rest of the world is busy doing Netflix and chill.
LegalizeMilkPls@reddit
Idk bro ask Hamas why they wage war and commit terrorism dressed as civilians
Successful_Cook3532@reddit
Take land from the owners, create your own country, give them weapons and call them IDF while if people of Palestine defend their land and honour with whatever they have, call them terrorist!! Huh, hypocrisy at its peaks!!
shinerkeg@reddit
Saw this same story on WFAA/Ch 8 last night. I have a lot of issues with the way the story has been presented and many of the things she said.
Yes, I realize she’s a victim BUT she willingly went with a stranger to get drugs. She’s acting like she didn’t know something bad could happen to her. She was 15 and by that age you know there are possible dangerous risks and consequences. The truth? She just didn’t care. Say that.
In the WFAA story she talked about how natural it looked on camera at AAC. That you wouldn’t suspect anything b/c it didn’t look like a kidnapping. At that point it wasn’t! Of course this dude is going to behave himself when there are a lot of people around. She went with him willingly alone to his van in the parking lot. Really f’ing stupid.
She’s presented as a naive 15 year old who didn’t know asking a stranger for drugs could lead to bad things.
Both stations totally downplay/gloss over the fact that by 15 she’d already been to rehab and had run away from home several times. They also don’t come out and explicitly say she had a big problem with drugs and behavior. Instead she is rather flippant and dismissive of her own shitty behavior and habits.
TeaMistress@reddit
While I suspect you don't intend this, your whole comment makes you come off like the kind of person who would sit on a jury and nod along when the creep being tried tries to use the "the 15 year-old seduced me" defense.
shinerkeg@reddit
You are suspecting wrong. I think her behavior and reasoning are piss poor. She’s still a victim and that dude taking advantage of her is abominable. In these interviews her story is being presented like she had no idea her behavior was dangerous. I fault the reporters/producers for the tone and lesson taught from her interviews.
ParticularSnow1443@reddit
My husband and I watched that interview, so I understand what you’re saying.
I was uncomfortable with the way my thoughts were tracking towards the interview, but it had to be said, “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.”
I think she lost me when she said that she had access to a phone and never called home or 911.
I am glad she’s telling her story and pray for her continued healing.
Ok-Poetry6@reddit
My guess is they wrote it this way because they have empathy for a child who was sex trafficked.
I’m struggling to understand what kind of lesson you think children are learning from this? Go ahead and ask strange men for drugs because it won’t be your fault if they rape you?
maybe_mayhem@reddit
So while I agree that maybe you didn’t come across really well with this comment, and there is a bit of victim blaming happening here, I think I kind of get what you’re trying to say.
There is a lot of fear mongering happening right now about what sex trafficking looks like, that’s lead to a lot of people thinking that there is an epidemic of kids just getting snatched up out of the Kroger parking lot to be sold. In reality, the people getting trafficked are incredibly vulnerable people much like this girl. I do know plenty of people that have used this story to say, “Look! See? They are just snatching our kids up.” In reality, she fits the profile of people that actually get trafficked really well. But people will use this story to feed into this false narrative about sex trafficking.
shinerkeg@reddit
Well, she does deserve some of the blame. She put herself in a dangerous situation. She willingly left with a stranger to get drugs. What ultimately happened to this girl is awful, but she also has a history of shitty decision-making that comes with terrible consequences. You don’t think she hasn’t been taught stranger danger, drugs can kill you, people don’t always have your best interest in mind, etc.? You don’t think she wasn’t warned in rehab or any one of the times she ran away that the people she befriends could harm her?
For me, there is a difference in someone being vulnerable with an innocent intent, versus someone being vulnerable and intentionally putting themselves in a dangerous situation.
While I may sound harsh, this girl put herself and others in danger. Her attitude during her interviews was flippant and rather dismissive of her own behavior and history.
It’s okay if we disagree.
I do like that you pointed out the fear-mongering surrounding sex-trafficking. I think Hollywood has given the public a narrow frame or perception of how that happens and what it looks like.
maybe_mayhem@reddit
Listen, I used to work as a sex worker. I’ve worked with victims of sex trafficking and continue to work to support victims. I will never blame a person for being sex trafficked. It’s not helpful. But I will always advocate for a woman’s safety and encourage her to be an active participant in that. The world is not black and white and people are very complex. But no one ever deserves to be trafficked, despite the actions that led to that outcome.
shinerkeg@reddit
Like I said - it’s okay if we disagree internet stranger. (Let be clear since you are terrible at comprehension: you are implying and accusing me with several very, very wrong and misguided statements.)
maybe_mayhem@reddit
You said that a child deserved some of the blame for getting sex trafficked.
shinerkeg@reddit
Where did I say those exact words? In fact, I said specifically she didn’t deserve it. No one does.
It’s astounding to me how black and white your thinking is - after lecturing me that this isn’t a black and white issue. That it’s complicated. (Your words.) I’m pointing out one of the many complications- that a shitty decision led to a horrible outcome. What part of that is so hard for you to understand?
Or, are you one of those keyboard warriors that thinks only their opinion is 100% correct? Again. Your words. This is complicated. Two things can be true: she’s a victim that became one after a series of shitty decisions she made that got the ball rolling.
These are facts. Not victim-blaming.
maybe_mayhem@reddit
You said, "Well, she does deserve some of the blame."
dchow1989@reddit
There’s not really a scenario where someone who makes a mistake deserves to be sex trafficked. Can it happen, yes, does the person deserve it never.
sandrae110@reddit
“Yes I realize she’s a victim BUT she said yes to have sex with that 30 year old man and take money from him. She’s acting like she didn’t know something bad will happen to her” See how you sound bro? Kinda weird. The age of consent isn’t 15 for a reason. Plus being an addict? You are victim blaming
une_noisette@reddit
And when she was found she was just casually walking down the street??! She wasn’t running or trying to escape. Doesn’t make sense.
Cinamunch@reddit
She and another girl were found DRUGGED walking down the street.
nickgomez@reddit
Sure seems like the family is trying to reshape the story and establish this new nonprofit or whatever. I doubt that this was a complete stranger she randomly bumped into at a Mavs game. The meetup was surely planned. That said, the scumbag adults involved are awful lowlifes for sure and should have received some sort of punishment.
alextheruby@reddit
What’s the point of this comment?
jessie_the_creative@reddit
They need to realize that there are people looking to get them.
Tiny_Dog_8764@reddit
Emanuel Cartagena, I wonder how long he has been here. 🤨
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nickgomez@reddit
She ran away when she was 14. After the Mavs game incident she ran away from the Utah rehab center she was sent to. https://kutv.com/amp/newsletter-daily/missing-endangered-16-year-old-girl-last-seen-in-salt-lake-city-natalee-kramer-south-temple-last-seen
Complex_Win_5408@reddit
I was kind of confused with some of the story. She went for a vape, ended up with weed, then.....? That last picture when they found her looked like much harder drugs were being used over more than 10 days. Was the weed they gave her laced?
CameraAgile8019@reddit
It’s gotta be more than weed considering she’s saying she doesn’t remember anything and was incoherent. Not to mention she’s been sent to rehab before…for weed and vaping? It was either laced or it was definitely harder drugs
nickgomez@reddit
Or it’s just the story they are going forward with
ExplanationMajestic@reddit
I expected there was way more to this story than we were led to believe. I think it is very rare day that a 14 year old at a sporting event with their family, gets picked up in the bathroom and casually walks out of the venue, never to be heard from again. Is it a horrible situation for all involved, absolutely. Was it just a random bad day for a normal local teen....hmm I doubt that.
Barack_Odrama_007@reddit
Yup. Lots of running away from this one….
medullaoblongtatas@reddit
Running away doesn’t excuse what happened to her.
Barack_Odrama_007@reddit
Who said it excuses what happened?
stanley_fatmax@reddit
There's a reason this case wasn't pursued.. too much reasonable doubt for any reasonable jury, with or without her priors taken into account.
joshmccormack@reddit
I understand. But the fact is, she was a child. If she had been 2 years old and walked away in random directions people would have still been upset over pushing drugs and rape. The fact is, they knew she would not be viewed as a child.
JoshS1@reddit
Geez, that's just crazy. So glad she was found, there's certainly a lot of less fortunate victims that aren't.
ratfink_111@reddit (OP)
Proud of her for saying what happened. She was in a dark place already and her addiction led her to asking complete strangers for drugs. Just so scary cause I’m sure that happens a lot but being kidnapped happen to everyone. So scary and thank goodness her family hired a PI that was able to find her so quickly. Glad she has family that has supported her and she’s doing well.
nickgomez@reddit
I highly doubt she met a complete stranger inside the aac who just happened to be a recreational drug user.
mojojomama@reddit
You have incredibly bad decision-making skills at that age. Someone older and “cool” asks if you want to get high and you think that you’re pretty and special for being picked. That little psychological trick on someone at that developmental stage works like a charm. That’s how easily it happens every day.
ratfink_111@reddit (OP)
Except she asked him.
Cansum1helpme@reddit
What freaks me out is that the PI found her so quick and knew where to look with pictures to boot. There’s gotta be a lotta dark shit going on that we don’t know about in the criminal justice side of things.
Or maybe the parents had an “idea” where to start?
The_Erlenmeyer_Flask@reddit
That must have been a pretty dark place to still take a shower & put on different clothes despite the fact that she had been raped by the same people 3 times.
I, too, am glad she was able to come forward about what happened because I had so many questions.
CelerySecure@reddit
This is what addiction does to you though. I don’t blame this CHILD because she’s an addict and can’t think clearly about her actions because she needs a fix. Way older people have done way worse when they had a craving. She needs a lot of help and I hope she keeps getting it.
LegalizeMilkPls@reddit
I feel like she is glossing over that she clearly was trying to run away again. She left the event that requires tickets to re enter with a complete stranger. There was no way she intended to smoke weed then return to her dad who knows how long after. There are some horrible predators out there that take advantage of vulnerable children. Never let your child leave your sight at any event.
nissa8252@reddit
This is a reminder that the grand jury, people like your neighbor and your kid's teacher, rather turn away from trafficking than to sentence a criminal.
semper-gourmanda@reddit
"I found a male and was like hey do you smoke."