Biological father of Belizean woman & victim of human trafficking comes forward
Jamelia
On Monday we reported on the sad story of a Belizean woman living in the United States who is a victim of human trafficking. The report from ABC News showed a twenty-three year old woman by the name of Jamelia, who said she was sold by her mother to an American national. She has been living in the US since she was eleven years old and was forced to labor at a family house in Fresno, California. This morning a man came to our studios and identified himself as Jamelia’s biological father. He goes by the name Patterson and produced a photo of Jamelia when she was ten or eleven years old. 
He said he had no idea that his daughter was a slave in the US, because he thought she was adopted. He also claimed that five other children had been sold to the same US woman who took Jamelia. Patterson said he thought Jamelia would have a better life in the U.S. since his other daughter Erica Wills was murdered years ago. If the name sounds familiar, Erica Wills’ bones were found in 1999. She was considered to be one of the victim’s of the unsolved child murders that were attributed to a still at large serial killer, dubbed as Jack. But Patterson says he will remain quiet for now. News Five contacted Ava Pennil at Human Services about Jamelia’s case, however, she could not comment since she had not reached her superiors in Belmopan. Jamelia is about to take part in a human trafficking trial in the United States. We decided to repeat her story once again in case anyone recognizes the now grown victim.
{ABC News Report}
How can a mother sell her own child? How can a parent sell his/her child? This is incomprehensible. The only consolation in this is that this child survived to tell her story and I pray God blesses her with a good life from here on out. She is a survivor inspite of her parents and the woman who bought and abused her. Shame on them all.
So, the father of a murdered child, then of one that was in the US for over 10 years, and kept as a slave by a rich American after being sold wants to stay silent?
He should be extraditied to the US as a material witness, as there is no doubt that he knew exactly what happened, and took a share of the money!
Either that, or he must be one of the most heartless human being on the planet (After Colonel Ghadaffi, Said Musa, Tony Blair and Dean Barrow), for not following up on the ‘Adoption’ and checking on his flesh and blood’s welfare in 12 years!
If she was adopted legally, he would have papers, as he had to give his consent, as her ‘father’. No way would the US authorities allow an adoption of an overseas child take place without proper checks & balances, and a lot of paperwork (Hence the number of Hiaitian kids still in foster homes and immigration centres, pending adoption procedures after last years earthquake).
He was either in on the trafficking and sale of his daughter, or should have been neutered at birth, so he couldn’t sire children in the first place. Which begs another question, how many other children has he fathered, who may be facing the same fate as the two mentioned? Who knows? maybe the murdered daughter put up a fight, died in the struggle and was dumped in the same way as the other victims of the serial killer, to throw the police off the scent back in 1999?
No wonder he’s keeping silent, too many skeletons stil in his cupboards, and he should hang his head in shame!
STATES ………ain’t ALL IT’S HYPED UP TO BE………
Such a beautiful Belizean girl she looked so happy in the earlier picture , I hope all goes well for her maybe her mom believed she would have a better life in the USA but you know there is good and bad people all over the world unfortunately she wound up with the bad folks. I pray for her .
DaveyT, the man said he “THOUGHT” she was adopted.
Quite possible he neva know weh dih goawn. The human trafficker could have conned the parents into thinking they were signing up the girl for adoption.
And after you give a kid up for adoption, you nuh necessarily supposed to dih check up pan deh. You onlih do dat if the adopting parents give you consent.
Hopefully, after Miss Penill is through dragging her feet with the powers that be in BMP, Our Govt. can use its resources to conduct a proper and official investigation into the so called adoption of those other 5 Belizeans children. Let’s pray they are alive and well. Jamelia, I’m glad you live to tell your story as I’ve heard about so many horror stories involving third world kids being sold into slavery and sex trade in the Great USA.
Human services dept in Belize is a joke, all workshop specialists.
start giving free tie-off and free birthcontrol methods at all public hospitals and clinics countrywide. the only way out of this cycle of poverty and misery and abuse is for women to have no more that 2 offspring.
Nadine:Every Belizean Woman is beautiful.
I am so glad to hear that jamelia survived to tell her story. but where is the mother of these children right now is she still living in the country of Belize and didn’t the father say that they sold five other children to the same woman where are the other children it does not sound like they were living in the same house as jamelia so did she return to the US and re sold them to some one else i think that the authorities in belize need to investigate this matter after all these 6 children are belizean by birth.
CREOLE PEOPLE STOP SELLING UNU PICKNEY
daveyT, I’m with you, cut off the source. If he was a man he would have been responsible for his child & would not have been snookered into giving his child to a total stranger. He chose ignorance because it took his lazy @$$ off the hook, was he responsible for procuring children for this woman, how did he know about the other children?
May God be the Judge!!!…, he without no sin cast the frist stone, because after all only who feel it knows it. God Bless us all One even after this world explode. Love you Belize but my People more,blood is ththicker than water but Love is thicker than blood …