13-year-old Dallas girl found locked in barn in North Carolina used chat before kidnapping, mother says

Mother 13-year-old girl abducted and sexually abused by a man in North Carolina tracked her daughter’s online activity.

“Her email, her passwords, you know, everything we had on hand, we gave them everything,” said the girl’s mother, who wanted to be called Estela.

The digital world of fun and fantasy has become a nightmare for Estela and her family.

According to Estela, her daughter was last seen in Dallas on March 1. She and her husband said the daughter had run away. However, the search did not stop.

“We pinpointed the IP addresses and locations that we found clues about,” Estela said.

The parents had their daughter’s email address, password, and social media logins. They soon discovered that their daughter was using the in-game chat to communicate with the accused predator. Authorities identified the suspect as 34-year-old Jorge Camacho.

“They are mean, mean kids. They are smart,” said Estella. “It’s very, very scary because we know as parents, we know as adults that it’s weird. You know, he’s a stranger to how you portray yourself. You don’t know this man, he’s a stranger, you know. Even though he is your friend in this game.

Richie Simmons, sheriff of Davidson County, North Carolina, said the nature of the interaction between the teenager and Camacho was one of courtship and seduction.

Camacho was charged with a number of felony charges of kidnapping a child, criminal detention of a child, human trafficking, rape of a person under the age of 15, and indecent liberties with a child. Camacho, Simmons said, could face additional costs and is being held up by bonds totaling $1.25 million.

“If you tell your child they are friends; they are not your friends, if you have not seen them in person, it is a lie,” said Jennifer Hochman, founder of the organization. Fight for us which helps raise awareness to stop sex trafficking.

“They create strong relationships and friendships with people online. So we have to take precautions,” Hohman said.

According to experts, the first 24-48 hours after a child goes missing are the most vulnerable, as they are exposed to sex and drug traffickers.

“I would say never give up. Both contact local law enforcement, but there is also someone privately looking for your child and giving you advice,” Hochman said.

A professional can help trace IP addresses to find out the user’s digital history.

“An IP address is like your physical address for your technology. So these are the things that we can look at. This digital story looks like they were talking to someone, you could find pictures in their text messages, social media chats, or online gamer chats,” Hochman said. “And you can find out who they were talking to.” And that brings you to what I call the alias or avatar of whoever was talking to them at the time.”

Experts warn that it’s not just about watching your child’s activities, it’s also about building trusting relationships to learn about the friendships they create online.

“Not every child wants to tell everything to their parents. So you should have an older sister, older brother, cousin, aunt and uncle, or even a close family friend who will build a trusting relationship with your child,” Hochman said. “Your child will tell them something and then they will have some sort of contract that says, ‘I will only tell you what your child tells me when it comes to there being something. in danger”.

Advocates for victims of sexual abuse say that even after being rescued, these children are at risk.

“When we return, we know that these children are at high risk,” said Eli Molina, director of forensic services. Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center. “These are kids who are more likely to talk to another adult who is looking for those connections because they don’t really have a sense of belonging to anyone else.”

Molina said therapy is an important step in the recovery process for survivors of sexual assault.

“After the child has gone through this traumatic experience. What we really want is the ability of this child to heal and get justice in whatever situation he was in,” Molina said. “We offer a variety of services, from a forensic examination to a therapy session and many therapy sessions to a family advocate that will be assigned to this child throughout the healing process.”

Experts hope this case will be a revelation to parents throughout the North Texas community.

“Parents don’t know what their kids are doing in their own home, or we might think that human trafficking or kidnapping doesn’t happen in my neighborhood or that it doesn’t happen on the street where I live,” Molina said. “The reality is that this often happens in our communities, in our schools and with people we know.”

The law requires that any suspicion of child abuse be reported to the police or the Texas Child Abuse Hotline. Messages can remain anonymous.

Texas Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-252-5400
www.txabusehotline.org