Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - 'Killer fiance' wants custody for tot-girl of fiance HE KILLED, Kelsey Berreth; PLUS: Texas teacher tries to sell girl online to sex trade [Cops]

Episode Date: January 16, 2019

Should accused Colorado killer Patrick Frazee lose all parental rights to the young daughter he fathered with Kelsey Berreth, the woman he allegedly murdered? Nancy Grace raises this question and more concerning the Berreth case with a panel including forensics expert Karen Smith, Atlanta juvenile judge & lawyer Ashley Willcott, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Bober, Southern California prosecutor Wendy Patrick, and syndicated radio host David Mack. Grace and experts also explore the case of a Texas middle school teacher who alleged tried to sell an underage relative to sex slave traders in Morocco. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Crimestopshere.com. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. From what I can gather, I believe she really cared for Patrick, but I also think she was afraid. Crystal Lee, a longtime friend of Patrick Frazee, heads to Colorado as recently as November. According to Patty, the two have known each other a while, even owning horses together. She had known him since she was about 18 years old, right out of high school. I think he had some type of hold on her. The Rockstalls say on Crystal's last trip to Colorado, Michelle begged

her best friend not to go. Because she was worried about Crystal. She was very concerned that she was going to meet someone that had had asked her to murder someone. The Rockstalls claim their employee said Frazee threatened Lee and she may have helped him dispose of evidence. I think she got in over her head and I think she maybe used some bad judgment, but if I were afraid for myself or my children, I don't know what I would do. What would you say to Kelsey's mom right now if you could talk to her? I am going to talk to her. I'm going to tell her that she was a brave woman,

and I hope someday her daughters remain at home with their family. And if you could speak to Patrick. It wouldn't be good. Well, I can't wait to hear that conversation between the woman of the hero couple who exposed the so-called killer fiance Patrick Frazee's murder plot about how he planned to have Kelsey Barrett killed because apparently this couple knew about the murder plot a full month before Kelsey Barrett, a gorgeous young Colorado mom of a little one-year-old girl, Kelly, they knew about it a month before Kelsey was murdered but said nothing. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Thank you for being with us. After the FBI announced a $25,000 reward three full weeks after missing mom Kelsey disappeared, as of right now, her body has never been found, then they came forward. But could they have thwarted a murder? Joining me, Karen Smith, forensics expert, juvenile judge, and lawyer. You can find her at AshleyWilcott.com.

Renowned forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Bober. Ellen Duke in L.A. Jackie Howard in the studio. Joining me right now, syndicated talk show host david mack so tell me about this couple this so-called hero couple who exposed the killer fiance patrick frazee's murder plot who are these people you know nancy the shocking part about this you already mentioned that they knew about it a month beforehand this couple knew uh every they knew everybody involved here the girl uh that's what we're getting information about the former girlfriend a girlfriend that this man had at the age of 18 her first love that they said that

he had some kind of hold on her and made her believe that maybe he had even killed before threatening her children they actually have a relationship that dates back many, many years, but it continued on even after the first girlfriend was married, had kids, got divorced. This couple doesn't come forward with information for a full month until there's a $25,000 reward. I would take that word hero off their name. We are talking about a couple who sits down for a series of interviews

with KMVT-TV, and that's who you were just hearing with KMVT-TV and that's who you were just hearing KMVT-TV there in Idaho and they say that their employee Michelle told them back in October her best friend Crystal Lee was asked by a man to kill the mother of his child. They did not contact police then or on November 26th, Thanksgiving, when Kelsey Barrett goes missing. It was December 17th that they shared their information with the FBI one day after a $25,000 reward was first offered a full month after Barrett was last seen. Okay, what does this mean? I want to go straight out to Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge and lawyer. I mean, I'm happy they came forward, but what do you make of the delay? Well, I don't have any tolerance for the delay. I'm going to be really honest and frank. You know that I work a lot on prevention of crimes,

specifically with children, but in terms on prevention of crimes, specifically with children, but in terms of prevention of crimes against anyone. If you know something, if you've heard something, even if you think, oh, that can't be true, oh, they're not going to do it, you have got to come forward. Coming forward after the fact did nothing to protect this mother. Listen. I said, now I am very concerned. So your friend has 24 hours to go to the police or I'm calling them. Patty Rockstall delivered this ultimatum on November 26th for her employee, Michelle, to pass along to Crystal after she saw a Facebook post about a missing Colorado mom that sounded familiar. I don't know why she didn't. She was scared. That's what got reported back to me, that she had gone to the police. On November 27th, Patty learned Crystal got a new phone number

and was told she had, in fact, spoken with law enforcement. I didn't know until almost two weeks later that she hadn't. Then on December 17th, Patty contacted the Colorado Bureau of Investigations. Michelle immediately called Crystal to let her know, but she wasn't surprised. The FBI was at Crystal's house. They had a search warrant and they were, someone of the FBI was at her property. And so she knew that Michelle would more than likely get called because there were so many phone calls and text messages back and forth. In fact, some about this incident. The Rockstalls say the two are as close as sisters, but Michelle was not involved in Kelsey's presumed death.

And she didn't go with Crystal anywhere to Colorado or anything. She just listened to her friend. Despite threats and several weeks of stress, Patty says she doesn't regret making that call. It's tough for everyone. It's been a very emotional situation. We've all lost some sleep over this, but I'm sure nothing compared to Kelsey's family.

You are hearing from the couple that comes forward to claim that they know for a fact that the so-called killer fiancé Patrick Frazee's murder plot included asking his girlfriend to commit murder, but they knew about it a month before her death. Now, according to this couple, they never accepted any reward. I don't know if that's true or not, but that is what they say.

The reality is, Ashley Wilcott, you may know about a crime and say nothing, not warn anyone, and you are not at fault. Sure, I agree with you. You may know and not warn anybody, but there's a difference between not warning and not being at fault versus being complicit in the crime. Two different scenarios.

To Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist, there are any number of reasons people don't come forward to report crimes or report hearing about a crime that hasn't even taken place yet. There could be a myriad of reasons. They said nothing. Sure. I mean, some of them are more noble and some of them are more corrupt, like greed. So, yes, there's a variety of reasons. Straight back to Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host, joining us.

Apparently, this couple knew full well that Patrick Frazee planned to kill his fiancee weeks before her death. So much happening right now in the case. Dave Mack, what more can you tell me about the investigation regarding Kelsey Barrett and the possible recovery of her body? At this point right now, we still only have what we've been told in terms of like the cell phone being found in Idaho. We know that Crystal Lee was the one who probably did that. They still have yet to uncover a body, but they've got plenty of evidence indicating that she's no longer alive, which is why they've made the charges the way they are. We're still awaiting word on the investigators and what they're looking for and where they're

looking for the body. Take a listen to our friends at Daily Mail TV. Three months. That's how long investigators say Kelsey Barrett's fiance had been plotting her murder. Patrick Frazee, who was formerly charged with five felonies, was allegedly looking for someone to take out the mother of his infant daughter. Patrick Frazee was handcuffed with shackles around his ankles as he entered court. Frazee remained silent as he heard the charges against him. Two counts of first degree murder and three counts of solicitation to commit murder in the first degree. Investigators have two different theories of his alleged crime. One theory claims Frazee intended to deliberately kill his fiancee, 29-year-old Kelsey Barrett. The other says she was murdered as part of a robbery. All facts in this case are under seal, so I cannot talk to you about any potential motives in this case. There potentially

could be other people arrested. According to court documents, prosecutors believe Frazee tried to hire someone to kill Barrett between September 1st and November 1st, 2018. She's lived off Lake Avenue for years, sharing cordial conversation, even family stories with Kelsey Barrett. She's an awesome person. She's so kind and so you could tell she's a very kind-hearted person. The neighbor didn kind and so you could tell she's a very kind-hearted person. The neighbor didn't want us showing her face or using her real name to prevent excess attention, but she offers new details on activity at Kelsey's home Thanksgiving Day. What do you remember seeing Thanksgiving Day just up the road here? I looked up there and there was

both red pickups up there Thanksgiving Day and that was from about 1230 to 1. She says she never saw anybody, but the information aligns with what Frazee told police through his attorney, saying he picked up their daughter sometime Thanksgiving Day. The Safeway surveillance video includes a 1205 time stamp, meaning the truck would have arrived shortly thereafter. The other two cars were parked with the vehicles facing the apartment, but his was parked sideways behind them. The neighbor says it's the same truck she's seen

the last two years, driven by a man picking up and dropping off a baby. And when I showed her video of Frazee's truck towed off his property Friday, she says it looks the same. Speaking of the baby, what you're hearing right there was KOAA News 5 Denver reporter Sam Kramer reporting about how the neighbor saw the same red pickup truck she had been seeing forever. All about picking up and dropping off the baby. Was that baby a one-year-old little girl, Kelly, at home? At her mother of Kelsey Barrett's townhome, when mommy was killed.

At this hour, still no clue as to where mommy's remains are. Here's the big drama. Can the killer fiancé, Patrick Frazee, who was having at least one affair behind Kelsey's back, can he obtain custody of that little baby? What does it take to terminate parental rights? Right now, the mother of killer fiance Patrick Frazee has filed for custody of the baby to take the baby away from Kelsey's parents. And this went down just days after her son was charged with murdering the baby's mom, Kelsey Barrett. Ashley Wilcott, juvenile judge and lawyer. You can find her at ashleywilcott.com.

What do you make of it? How can his parental rights be terminated and will they? So parental rights can be terminated in instances under laws throughout each state in which a child is number one, at risk with the parent. And number two, they haven't done any of the things to actually overcome those risks or rehabilitate so that they can properly parent their child. So if a child's without the proper parental control, care, and supervision, and that person cannot correct behaviors in order to provide for the child, rights can be terminated. And in this particular case, these different allegations, if proven, if there's a conviction, are grounds for termination of parental rights in most states.

Here's the thing. There's got to be a hearing to terminate parental rights. And the standard of proof at that hearing is clear and convincing. It's not beyond a reasonable doubt. You can lose parental rights because you abandon your child. You can lose parental rights because you neglect them and don't care for them. You can lose parental rights because you commit a violent act, which according to police, he has. What effect, if any, does that have on the baby? Take a listen to our friend CBS reporter Maria Villarreal reporting the last time Kelsey was seen alive. One of the last places the young mother was seen was on Thanksgiving Day at a Safeway in Woodland Park, Colorado, wearing a white shirt, gray sweater, and blue pants. If she's out

there, doesn't want to be contacted, just let us know that she's safe and we'll let her family know. Barrett was reported missing on December 2nd. Woodland Park Police Commander Chris Adams says a few days after Thanksgiving, her cell phone pinged nearly 800 miles away outside Gooding, Idaho, not far from where she has family. Dear God, please keep the family of Kelsey Barrett in your heart and soul. In Washington State, where some of Barrett's family lives, a vigil was held by her brother-in-law, Brandon Kindle.

If they see her anywhere, please, please say something. That family can have no peace. While the so-called killer fiancé, Patrick Frazee, is charged with Kelsey's murder, her body has never been found. This is what we know. Karen Smith, if in fact he did plan this murder months ahead of time, he intentionally deprived baby Kelly of her mother and possibly murdered Kelsey Barrett there in her own townhome with the child in the home. Let's talk about forensics. Where is Kelsey's body? The biggest clue we have is that her phone, her cell phone pinged 800 miles away, Gooding, Idaho, coincidentally,

just a few miles away from his mistress lives. What do you make of it, Karen? And what does that have to do with the location of her remains? It may have nothing to do with the location of her remains. You know, she may still be in Colorado. She may be between Colorado and Idaho. You know, there's no telling what happened to her after she was killed. We also don't have a cause of death. We have no information whatsoever. We know the matter of death is homicide. That's about it. So it is a huge wide swath. It's going to take all of these law enforcement agencies working in contingency, making sure that they do information sharing, anything that they find. And I have no doubt they're going to find her eventually. And that's going to tell a whole lot more of the story. Well, let's talk about it. You say we don't

know cause of death, but we do know this. We know that when the brother went into Kelsey Bear's townhome, he saw nothing amiss. Her suitcases were there. All that was missing was her cell phone. I think possibly her purse. This was a flight instructor. She's very well organized. The home was in perfect order. He saw no evidence of a crime.

But then when cops zero in on her townhome, after the neighbor says she sees Frazee's red pickup hemming in Kelsey's two cars, they go in for a forensic investigation. And what was invisible to the naked eye suddenly is visible. And they say they think she died there. Now, doesn't that give you an indication of the cause of death, Karen Smith, forensics expert? It sure does. If it was invisible to the naked eye, but they found it, I'm thinking probably luminol or an alternate light source, maybe a cleaned up crime scene. That's my first hunch. If they found evidence of any bloodletting, now we're getting closer to a more violent type of death.

And hopefully, if that's what they found, it gave them some good clues as to what he may have done to her. Exactly. I'm thinking about the process of using luminol to find blood invisible to the naked eye. And that home was in order. Take a listen again to CBS's Maria Villarreal. Online, thousands are following a Facebook page dedicated to the search that's regularly posting pictures and updates on her case. Her brother traveled to Colorado to help find her posting. After arriving at Kelsey's house and combing through her things, we know one thing is certain.

Kelsey did not pack to go anywhere. All luggage is here. Her purse is all that seems to have gone. Barrett's cars are still in Colorado, and police tell me they have searched her home for clues and are working closely with her family to learn more about her including her life on social media and anyone she's been in contact with. So now we learn is there a possibility that the killer fiance Patrick Frazee is going to mount a legal challenge and maintain custody

I don't know how he could do that behind bars, of his one-year-old baby girl, Kelly, after he, according to police, killed her mother. To Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist, what effect will this have on this little baby as she grows up? She's lost her mom, still doesn't have her remains to bury her mom, and dad's behind bars. You know, Nancy, when I think about this case, I think about O.J. Simpson, you know, after he was acquitted and having to go through child custody issues with his own kids. So obviously the effect of losing their mother and just this whole situation would be would just be profound. Straight out to Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host. What is happening now in the case? What are they doing to try and find Kelsey's remains?

Well, Nancy, you mentioned the blood evidence that the police found in the scene. They are following things out from there. As you've heard, we've got the rock stalls now on record that are giving even more information. They're being able to track things back through Crystal Lee to determine what, did she just drop the phone in Idaho or was she involved in getting rid of Kelsey? All of these things are being considered as more and more evidence. You know, they've been playing it close to the vest, Nancy, and we don't have all their information, but we know that it's an ongoing investigation and they expect to be able to find at least the remains of Kelsey. If you have information to ease the

suffering of Kelsey's family, maybe one day give her little girl the chance to visit her mother's grave. Please call 719-687-9262 as the state prepares for a trial. Where is Kelsey or her remains? Hi, Nancy Grace here. Have you ever googled yourself, your neighbors, somebody at work, a crush? 57% of Americans admit to keeping an eye on their own online reputation 46 admit to using the internet to look up somebody from their past but google and facebook the tip of the iceberg when it comes to finding personal information there's an innovative new website called truth finder it's now revealing the full scoop on millions of Americans. Truthfinder can search through hundreds of millions of public records in a matter of minutes. Truthfinder members can literally begin searching in seconds for sensitive data like criminal, traffic, arrest records.

Before you bring someone new into your life and around the people you care for, your children, consider using Truthfinder. What you find may astound you. Go to truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy right away to start searching. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Truthfinder.com forward slash Nancy. Find the truth. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

In a joint investigation by Freestone and McLennan County deputies who specialize in trafficking, Parker was arrested at her home early Wednesday morning, just hours after she returned from a solo trip to Morocco. This is Amber Parker, and I want to tell you about the most beautiful time of my life thus far. A man named Yousef Durki says he created this video of Parker's visit and says she came for love, not for trafficking. And I love this man. More than earth stars and all the heavens.

Durkee says the video is proof Parker is innocent. However, in another twist, Parker has a husband in Teague. According to documents, Mr. Parker says a year ago, his wife told him she was going to become a member of a cult called Wicca. He says she created a fake Facebook page to secretly communicate with strange men associated with the organization. We found the profile where Parker disguises herself as Zoe Singer. One photo posted says, Don't try to figure me out. I'm a special kind of twisted.

In another, as a witch, I have three sides. The quiet and sweet side, the fun and crazy side, and the side you never want to see. Well, I wish she kept that side to herself. A Texas teacher allegedly trying to sell a little girl dressed in lingerie online for sex in Morocco. A Texas teacher, Amber Michelle Parker. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us. You know what? Every day I drop the twins off at school because I love their teacher. I love her. I guess that's what all the other moms thought in this class. A Texas teacher goes goes online dresses a little girl up

in lingerie and tries to sell her for sex with men in morocco this is a junior high school teacher in central texas i want to go straight out to alan duke joining us from la alan it's it's a little more than i can take in they're right right under our noses they're in freestone county a junior high school teacher trying to sell a little girl dressed in lingerie online what well and she teaches reading that i mean that's her and it's a small town i mean everybody knew this woman she uh could not hide there were only 8 000 people in this little town i'm looking at the schools it's a small town. I mean, everybody knew this woman. She could not hide. There were only 8,000 people in this little town. I'm looking at the schools.

It's Mejia, Mejia, Texas. Yeah, Mejia. I'm looking at the school's, her page on the school's website. I don't know if you've seen this picture, but she just looks like a reading teacher, an eighth grade reading teacher and not a sex trafficker trying to send a little girl to Morocco. This is really shocking. And by the way, I might add, we always say human trafficking is next door to you and in every small town, including this little one in Texas. You know, it's just more than I can take in.

This eighth grade reading teacher, age 37, trying to sell an underage girl into sex slavery in Morocco, even posting lurid photos of the little girl online? I'm talking about Amber Michelle Parker. Amber Michelle Parker, an eighth grade reading teacher, accused of conspiring to lure the child to Morocco so she, Amber Michelle Parker, can sell her to man after man after man. It's apparent that she posted photos online of the little girl exposing her chest. Now, Amber Michelle Parker, the eighth grade reading teacher, traveled to Morocco alone in December. And what you were hearing earlier, let's take a listen to that

again. Jackie, you hear her talking about her trip to Morocco for love and what a wonderful loving experience it was. She was paving the way to sex traffic a little girl. Listen to her again. In a joint investigation by Freestone and McLennan County deputies who specialize in trafficking, Parker was arrested at her home early Wednesday morning, just hours after she returned from a solo trip to Morocco. This is Amber Parker, and I want to tell you about the most beautiful time of my life thus far. A man named Yousef Durki says he created this video of Parker's visit and says she came for love, not for trafficking. And I love this man

more than there are stars in all the heavens. Durkee says the video is proof Parker is innocent. However, in another twist, Parker has a husband in Teague. According to documents, Mr. Parker says a year ago, his wife told him she was going to become a member of a cult called Wicca. He says she created a fake Facebook page to secretly communicate with strange men associated with the organization. We found the profile where Parker disguises herself as Zoe Singer. One photo posted says, Don't try to figure me out. I'm a special kind of twisted.

And another, as a witch, I have three sides. The quiet and sweet side, the fun and crazy side, and the side you never want to see. Yeah, I wish I had never seen it, but sadly, we are. Joining me, Dr. Bethany Marshall, renowned L.A. psychoanalyst. Karen Smith, forensics expert. Joining us out of the Florida jurisdiction. Atlanta felony prosecutor.

Kenya Johnson, of course. Alan Duke joining me from L.A. in the studio. And here in our studio, Jackie Howard. I want to go to Dr. Bethany Marshall. You know, like Alan, I'm looking at her pictures right now. And she looks like, you know, some wholesome mom that just pulled a dozen chocolate chip cookies out of the oven. Wrong! According to the sheriff there in Freestone County, Sheriff Jay Shipley, he says, quote,

She was online talking to multiple guys in Morocco, trying to get it set up, where she could take her little girl over there with her to them. Wisely, detectives obtained a search warrant for all of Amber Michelle Parker's electronic devices. But let me get to the forensics in just a moment, and then I'll follow up with the legal angle with Kenya Johnson. Dr. Bethany Marshall, this is an eighth grade reading teacher. What in the H-E-double-L is going on in her head? Okay, so an aspect of sex trafficking that I think is little known, and we see this unfolding in abusive households across the nation is women who give up their own children or younger female relatives to men, not necessarily for money, but because they're using the children as bait to get the affection of the man. So we think of sex trafficking as motivated by money, but sometimes it's motivated by a narcissistic need for attention

or to exploit the child to get access to other men. And one, when I read this story, I was wondering if this woman is one of these attention hungry, personality disordered women who will do anything to get the attention of men. She goes to another country, almost like a sex tourist. We see men do this often, go to third world countries so they can have access to people who are in more vulnerable positions. She goes there and she offers up her own niece in order to get access to these men. Now, the side benefit is she's going to get paid, right? She gets all these new relationships. She feels like important in that society, but it's at the cost of her own child. But don't think that this just

happens in sex trafficking cases. This happens on a more mundane level. In many households, you see sometimes mothers who will maybe date or marry a pedophile or somebody who has a lurid interest in their own child because they think that the child will be like the bait for the man. And that's just what, that's an aspect of this story I keep wondering about. An eighth grade reading teacher, 37 years old, is now a suspect trying to sell her underage relative into sex slavery in Morocco, posting lurid photos of the little girl online dressed in lingerie with her chest exposed. If you have children listening right now, please send them out of the room. I'm giving you a 10 count warning, okay, because I'm about to read

what we have obtained in the sheriff's warrant. Again, if you have a child around you right now, please send them out of the room. The sheriff's warrant that we have obtained states that Amber Michelle Parker, this is found pursuant to search warrant on her electronic devices, quote, talking about the little girl. She, the little girl, wants to peel your uniform off of you, cuff you, and lick your abs. Okay. Then she goes on to discuss with the two men there in Morocco about flying to the U.S. to have relations with both her and the minor girl. This eighth grade reading teacher goes on to tell the men online how old the little girl is and that she is a virgin.

Soon after, the men begin trying to have Parker and the minor girl travel to Casablanca, Morocco. This is according to the warrant and they're reading it straight off everything Amber Michelle Parker was typing. They say that while monitoring the conversations, more photos were sent to the man. All of this is being orchestrated by this teacher that Parker had coachached the little girl. To take these photos. Telling her what positions to be in.

What parts of her body to expose. It goes on and on and on. And this is all obtained. Through search warrants. For electronic devices. Now the McLennan County Sheriff. Parnell McNamara says. They had been watching Parker for

some time before they obtained all this information. You know, I want to go to Karen Smith, forensics expert. What do you have to do in order to dig up all of this electronic information? It's like leaving a path a mile wide for the police. It sure is. And, you know, family members were the people who tipped off the police that something was amiss. So once they had that information and they found this secret Facebook page that Parker had created, that started the ball rolling. Once they started finding all of that public information, they could get the search warrant and then do that deep dive into her data, see that big footprint she was leaving, find out all of the information on likely her cell phone.

Listen, we live and die with our electronic devices. I don't go anywhere without my cell phone and likely she didn't either. It wasn't just her laptop or home computer. She was doing this stuff remotely. She was doing it on her cell phone. So all of that information is coming into play and they're going to bring it all into court and it's going to tell the entire disgusting, despicable story. According to warrants we've obtained from police, Mejia teacher teaching eighth grade reading tells trafficking victim him how she should pose for men online. I mean, Dr. Bethany, let me come back to you on how that's going to affect this little girl the rest of her life. But to Kenya Johnson, more urgently, felony prosecutor in the Atlanta jurisdiction, what charges can be leveled against this reading teacher, Amber Michelle Parker? You know, there's so many unanswered questions

to decide all the charges, but right now we're looking at sexual exploitation. We're looking at sexual battery, depending upon how the young lady was positioned for the pictures. I've prosecuted child molestation cases before, and I've seen pictures of child pornography and the looks, the hollow looks in the little girls' faces as they're eight and nine and made to look sexy in suggestive poses. It's just haunting, and I'll never forget what those look like, and I can only imagine what those young ladies feel like having to pose in such suggestive poses. And so a lot more questions to be asked. But right now, we're already looking and law enforcement should be looking at what's going on with the young lady's life right now. Is she already being abused? This may only be

the tip of the iceberg. Has she already encountered sexual exploitation? And so those are some of the questions that we'd be asking to formulate all the charges. To Dr. Bethany Marshall, I remember the first time I, well, I prosecuted so many child molestation cases, but I remember some of my first ones. Wait, hold on. I remember my first one that I took to trial and it was a father that had been molesting the little girl. And this hollow look in the eyes of the little victims, I saw it then, but just as a trial lawyer, I saw it, I noticed it, but I didn't know what it meant. That hollow look that Kenya Johnson's describing, what is that?

Well, the hollow look is that they're very dissociated or disconnected from themselves, that they can't even bear to be in their own bodies. And we know that child sexual abuse is the one type of trauma that even when it's only perpetrated once against a child, scars the child for the rest of their life. A child can be beaten, the child can be starved, left on the school steps, not picked up, all kinds of other trauma usually takes multiple incidents to affect a child, but child sexual abuse, one incident changes the psychology, the physiology, the psyche of a child permanently, even resilient children. So that hollow look, I think it's shock. And add a layer to this that wasn't this teacher

of female relatives. So this is somebody with whom she had a trusted relationship who was exploiting her. That's a whole nother layer of trauma right there. And it's something that goes with you for the rest of your life. And as jarring and upsetting as this is, the little girl was saved by the local sheriffs. She was taken away before she got sent to Morocco to be with all of these men that the school teacher was setting up. To Alan Duke, joining me from LA. Alan, that's the thing about trafficking. We always think of it, you know, as some guys from some other country

kidnapping people, taking them away. It's not like that. It's happening right under our noses. Yes, I you know, we've done these shows, we've done these interviews, but we've also seen it up close because it's in every small town. You're reporting, my reporting, we've seen the tragic situations to where the, the, the shops in town are being staffed by people who are not there under their own will. It's not just sex trafficking. It's people being forced into labor, passports taken, smuggled into the country. It's not just sex trafficking. It's people being forced into labor, passports taken, smuggled into the country. It's a huge problem here in Los Angeles, where I am right now. There are thousands of people who are considered to be slaves. And you know what? Not just L.A.,

but all over the U.S. It's happening in this time. It was an eighth-grade reading teacher. Listen to our friend at KWTX-TV. This is Rusa Shaw. Foursomes, provocative photo exchanges, witchcraft. Strange details of a Freestone County human trafficking case are revealed. 37-year-old Amber Parker, an eighth-grade reading teacher at Mejia ISD, resigned Thursday in connection with an alleged incident back in November involving her underage female relative. According to the affidavit obtained by KWTX, Parker was sending sexual three-way messages to two Moroccan men on behalf of the victim. Police say Parker talks about the men flying to the U.S. to have sex with both her and the victim,

while the men suggest the females come to Casablanca. Parker provides the victim's age, marketing her as a virgin, according to the affidavit. Then Parker takes and sends semi-nude photos of the victim, even directing her on poses to, quote, keep the male interested in her. Nancy Grace, Crime Stories, signing off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.