Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2180616/texas-teacher-amber-michelle-parker-tried-sell United States & Canada
Texas teacher is accused of trying to sell underage virgin relative for sex in Morocco, posing girl in lingerie for buyers
- Amber Michelle Parker reportedly travelled to Morocco last month to broker the alleged sex-trafficking deal after touting the girl online
- Relatives blew the whistle on the supposed plot
Amber Michelle Parker, in a booking mugshot. Photo: Freestone County Jail
A joint investigation between two Texas counties ended in the arrest of a 37-year-old woman on Wednesday, accused of trying to sell a young female relative to men in Morocco for sex, according to a statement from the Freestone County Sheriff’s Department.
The woman charged is Amber Michelle Parker, according to jail records. She remained in Freestone County Jail on Thursday, and was being held on a US$25,000 bond.
The nature of Parker’s relation to the underage victim was not disclosed by officials from either Freestone or McClennan County, which assisted on the investigation, in an effort to keep the girl from being identified publicly.
It is a dastardly story, and it is trafficking at its worst
Parker is an eighth-grade reading teacher at Mexia Independent School District, according to the district’s website. Mexia is a town of about 8,000 residents about 85 miles (135km) south of Dallas.
“Family members got wind that Parker was going to try to lure this girl to Morocco,” McClennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara said, according to the Waco Tribune. “It is a dastardly story, and it is trafficking at its worst.”
Parker travelled alone to Morocco in mid-December to broker the deal and returned on January 1, the newspaper reported. It said she tried unsuccessfully to persuade relatives to let her take the girl with her on the trip.
Parker was communicating online with multiple men from Morocco about selling the young girl, according to the Freestone County statement. To entice the men and get a better price, she boasted that the girl was a virgin, and included photographs of her in lingerie, showing the girl’s breasts, KWTX reported.
Authorities did not report the price Parker was allegedly seeking for her young relative, but they had been investigating the teacher “for months”, McNamara told KCEN, after members of Parker’s family came forward with the tip.
The reading teacher was placed on administrative leave Wednesday by Mexia ISD, according to a statement by superintendent Lyle DuBus.
“Student safety is Mexia ISD’s No 1 priority,” the statement said. “We take these allegations seriously and we will be working closely with our partners in law enforcement. The district continues to monitor the situation and feels no students at Mexia Junior High were ever at risk.”