A Texas teenager who was abducted during an NBA game, sex trafficked and held against her will in a hotel 200 miles away has been arrested after investigators say her photo appeared in an online sex ad. She opened up about the horrific week of abuse she endured before tracking her down to her captors.
Natalie Kramer, now 18, was just 15 when she attended a Mavericks game at the American Airlines Center in Dallas with her father on April 8, 2022.
Kramer, who is now sober and aiming to get his GED, told WFAA that he relied on marijuana and alcohol to deal with his anxiety at the time, and that he started feeling anxious once the fight started.
“I was feeling good and ready to go out together.” [my dad]'' Kramer told the magazine. “We got there and took our seats. … The first quarter started and I started to feel anxious. This craving is like getting high or drunk.”
Texas girl trafficked from Dallas Mavericks game at hotel by men with 'AK-47 style' rifles: lawsuit
Oklahoma City police are investigating the human trafficking case of 15-year-old Dallas Mavericks player Natalie Kramer, including Saniyah Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Shuvan Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes and Karen. Gonzalez, Talia Gibson and Stephen Hill were arrested. (Oklahoma City Detention Center)
Kramer told his father he was going to the bathroom, but he left his cell phone on the seat and did not return.
In the arena concourse, Cramer made eye contact with the alleged kidnapper, Emmanuel Cartagena, 33.
“I was just walking around and this guy caught my eye,” Kramer recalled. “I told him, 'I just want to smoke a cigarette. Do you want one?'
Cramer said he and Cartagena walked back to their car, where they said they had marijuana to smoke. The second person met them in the parking lot, and the three drove to a home in North Texas.
Texas girl, 15, trafficked from Dallas Mavericks game. Eight people arrested in Oklahoma: Police
“He didn't tell me there was anyone else with him,” Kramer said. “He was the only one. He told us he was going to walk back to his car, which was parked in the parking lot…garage…and then a second man came in. They said they had marijuana. They just told me it was in the car.”
“They gave me marijuana,” she told WFAA. “But they had more than that in mind.”
Kramer was held in the house against her will for several days before being sold to a sex trafficking ring in Oklahoma.
Meanwhile, her father, Kyle Morris, reported his daughter missing at the arena after failing to return to her seat. But she was told she had to report her as a fugitive to her home police station, 30 miles away. Kramer has left his parents' home several times and was even reported as a runaway.
Negative reviews of ESA – Oklahoma City Airport Hotel mention prostitution occurring on-site. (Dallas County Lawsuit)
Seeking answers, the family hired a private investigator in Houston who specializes in these types of cases. Within minutes, they found a photo of Kramer posted in an online sex ad and were able to track her whereabouts to Oklahoma City.
Kenneth Levan Nelson, one of eight suspects arrested by Oklahoma City authorities in Kramer's kidnapping, allegedly posted nude photos online.
Nelson, a convicted sex offender, said he had “rented at least two hotel rooms” at the Extended Stay America Oklahoma City Airport Hotel and “had relationships with at least two other hotel rooms.” Kramer's parents, according to a lawsuit filed against the hotel under false names.
According to the complaint, Kramer was administered “alcohol and numerous narcotics, including methamphetamine.” She recalled being at a hotel and seeing a drunken family walking through the halls, surrounded by men with assault rifles.
Texas girl trafficked from Dallas Mavericks game listed as 'fugitive' before nude photos leaked
Oklahoma City authorities have arrested and charged eight people after 15-year-old Natalie Kramer was allegedly trafficked to a Dallas Mavericks game at American Airlines Center on April 8, 2022. . (Getty Images)
“I was even more surprised to see that there were families there with young children. They looked me in the eye and I could see that all these people were older than me and yet they didn't say anything. '' Kramer said. “The fathers of these little children saw me, but I didn't recognize them at the hotel. [The man who trafficked her] Despite having an entire rifle nearby, the family walked on as if nothing had happened. ”
On April 18, a police officer noticed a boy walking outside an apartment complex and asked if he was Natalie Kramer. She told officers that she had been raped but was rescued.
She described her deliverance as an answered prayer.
“I was just praying to God,” she said. “'I'm tired. I can't do it anymore. I need someone. Please send someone.'”
The officer took an unfamiliar photo of her in the back of the cruiser.
“I was wearing braces at the time and one of the guys punched me in the mouth,” Kramer told CBS News about the photo. “My whole cheek just got scratched. It looked like my braces were on the inside of my cheek.”
A view of American Airlines Center before the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves warm up for a game in Dallas on December 17, 2020. (Jerome Miron/Imagn Images)
Kramer was arrested along with eight other people: Saniyah Alexander, Melissa Wheeler, Shevan Gibson, Kenneth Nelson, Sarah Hayes, Karen Gonzalez, Talia Gibson and Stephen Hill. He said it was only a few minutes before he spoke to the officer.
Cartagena, the man who allegedly first took Cramer back to her car before she was trafficked, was arrested by federal marshals in January 2023 and charged with child sexual assault, according to WFAA. Ta. However, a Dallas County grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to indict him.
“I know there were things I could have done to prevent this, but I also know that not every choice that was made was my choice,” Kramer told WFAA. “A part of me felt guilty, but I couldn't help but realize that this was my life and they had ruined my life. I didn't want them to pity me. I can't feel sorry for them because they didn't.”
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Kramer said she didn't realize anything was wrong until she was raped, and that the kidnapping was not a typical “guy with candy in the back of a van.”
“It seems like a normal conversation until it isn't. You don't realize you're in danger until you're in the middle of it. And you don't know what to do and get out of it.” '' Kramer said. “There's no judgment because people can't get out. If they can get out, they'll get out.
“I was scared and didn't know how to leave,” she continued. “I could have asked him to call me, but he would have been right there. What was I supposed to do? Even if I ran away, where would I go? I didn't know where I was.”
Since then, Kramer's family has An organization called Aisling To help victims of sexual assault and human trafficking.
