A Tyler man allegedly kidnapped a 13-year-old girl from Alabama, drove her to his home and kept her captive in his bedroom.
Daniel Dylan Skipworth, 19, who is charged with kidnapping, trafficking and aggravated sexual assault of a child, is scheduled to appear in state court Jan. 10. Federal charges are still possible as well, since the case crossed state lines.
Skipworth was arrested April 17, 2021, and remains in the Smith County jail on bonds totaling $550,000.
Skipworth reportedly met his victim, a 13-year-old girl, through Instagram messaging and drove to Florence, Alabama, on April 15, 2021, to make contact with her. He then allegedly drove the girl, whose identity has not been disclosed in media reports, to Tyler, returning home at 3:46 a.m. on April 17.
The girl’s parents submitted a missing person’s report with the Florence Police Department later that same day. The FPD employed the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI tracked the girl’s phone until it was dumped, determined that the victim was traveling with Skipworth, and located their final destination in Tyler.
Skipworth’s father allowed investigators into their home but denied the girl was present.
Daniel Skipworth was “uncooperative and upset that his family had allowed investigators inside their home. [Skipworth] eventually did confirm that [the victim] was inside his bedroom,” according to court documents.
The victim reportedly was found in Skipworth’s closet. Authorities determined that, although she initially went with Skipworth voluntarily, she changed her mind and had repeatedly asked to be taken home. According to the warrant, Skipworth says he “had kept [the victim] concealed within his bedroom and took steps to provide her with food and to entertain her during her stay.”
Tyler Police Department public information officer Andy Erbaugh told Lone Star Standard the department works closely with federal investigators in such cases.
“Our department has a detective on the local FBI task force who works Tyler Police Department cases and federal cases,” Erbaugh said. “Many federal cases can also be tried in local district courts. Our Tyler Police Department detectives often work hand-in-hand with the FBI to bring cases to a successful conclusion in both courts.”
He said the case against Skipworth is strong.
“It is the practice of detectives at Tyler PD to have strong cases before obtaining warrants for the suspect’s arrest. In this case the evidence is very strong,” Erbaugh said. “The affidavit will show you much of that.”
According to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Skipworth’s defense attorney, J. Brett Harrison, recently filed a request that would postpone the final deadline for a plea deal.
There has been no federal indictment as prosecutors are waiting on subpoenas on certain documents to go through and DNA tests to yield results. The Jan. 10 date was set by 7th District Judge Kerry Russell.
Erbaugh said sex trafficking has not been a concern in the past, but that may be changing.
“Tyler has a population of 105,000 people, and in a year our officers respond to over 48,000 calls for service,” Erbaugh said. “In 2020 we had zero cases of trafficking and two cases in 2021. We hope this trend doesn’t continue to increase because it is a concern, but overall crime in Tyler was down from 2020 to 2021.”
According to a 2016 report from the University of Texas at Austin, there are 78,996 minor and youth victims of human trafficking and 234,457 victims of labor trafficking in Texas at any given time, totaling 313,453 victims of human trafficking.
