An arrest affidavit has surfaced, landing an Austin mother and her son in hot water over allegations that they trafficked a runaway teen from Kansas. According to a report by CBS Austin, 62-year-old Judy Myers and her 35-year-old son Christopher Mitchell are accused of sexual assault of a child, trafficking of persons, and unlawful restraint after police located a 16-year-old girl who had run away from a state-run facility in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wichita Police Department took a missing person report on January 14, which led to the discovery of the teenager in Austin. Captured on surveillance footage, the girl was seen getting into a vehicle after leaving work, a vehicle traced back to Austin using license plate reader cameras. Found parked at an Austin apartment complex on February 5, police identified the vehicle belonging to Myers, with Mitchell appearing on the records as her emergency contact. As per KVUE, Mitchell confirmed he was aware the teenager was 16, and Myers admitted knowledge of the goings-on.
Further investigation detailed by KVUE revealed that the teen had plans, according to another child at the facility, to be picked up by a man she had communicated with via the social media platform Discord. The teenager was found with Mitchell on February 5 after he and the victim were seen driving to his mother's home and later returned to the apartment complex.
During interrogation at the offices of APD's Human Trafficking Unit, the victim told police she had been transported from Wichita to Austin by Mitchell and that they had multiple sexual encounters. Mitchell not only admitted to these acts but also disclosed plans to move into a home with the victim on Flagstaff Circle to evade a blackmailer. According to police, this blackmailer was aware of their sexual activities. Myers, caught in the apartment complex, told the police that she had intended to petition for guardianship of the teenage girl. She assumed police had found the girl because a third party alerted them, confessing her awareness of the situation.
Online records show Mitchell is currently in custody at the Travis County Jail, with a cumulative bond set at $207,500. He faces charges of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony, trafficking of persons, a first-degree felony, and unlawful restraint, a state jail felony. Myers is charged with interference with child custody, a state jail felony.
