FRISCO, TX—The Stand With Sophia, GoFundMe campaign was started for a 9-year old girl from Frisco, Texas, who was subjected to grooming, molestation, and rape at her primary residence under the supervision of her mother. The campaign aimed at raising funds for a legal team that will “fight for Sophie” has gone viral. The campaign was brought to attention due to a viral 3 minute and 43 second long Facebook video about the child’s dilemma, posted by the In The Now social media agency.
In the video, Sophia cried to her grandmother for help regarding sexual abuse she experienced by her mother’s boyfriend, who she identifies as “Mr. Jake.” The sexual abuse resulted in physical harm and damage to private areas. In the 19 minute and 29 second video, her grandmother asks “who’s touching you?” She says, “Mr. Jake and Mommy watches. Mommy watches it happen.” Her grandmother asks “Where does he touch you?” Sophie says, “my vivi.” Sophie goes on to talk about blood in her underwear and the fighting and how she is tired of all of it. When she was asked what he does with it, she responded, “Like touches it and scratches it.” She woke up and found “blood on my underwear.”
In the video she can be seen being snatched from her father, whom she wanted to stay with. She was told, “No, Sophia. You have to go.” Sophia yelled, “Help me! Ow! Ow!” She was taken away from Child Protective Services.
In a video of her being taken away, the father was told, “You understand that in the event that she doesn’t go with them tonight that is a motion going to be filed against you, and you are likely going to jail, so I need Sophie to do this so that you don’t go to jail.”
As of August 31, 2020, the Frisco Police released a statement on Twitter, claiming that Sophie was being held at a safe location while the investigation continued. No details about the location of Sophie’s current residence were disclosed due to the sensitivity of the topic.
The GoFundMe campaign, listed under the category of “Accidents and Emergencies” was organized by Sophia’s stepmother, Kourtney Chalmers. She described her campaign as part of an “all out legal fight while trying to get law enforcement everything they need for their investigation.” As of August 21, when the campaign started, she said her team was dedicated to dealing with law enforcement, lawyers, and several doctors to helping Sophie, who has suffered injury in her private areas as a result of sexual assault.
“We have two law firms who plan to fight hard to free the children from this fate and we plan to also use this to get them counseling and create a safe place for them to grow up and just be kids again,” said Kourtney Chalmers in the concluding sentence of the description for the “Stand with Sophia” GoFundMe campaign. As of September 10, 2:43 p.m. local time, the campaign raised $202,327.
