A 6-year-old girl is lucky to be alive after her father decided that Pokémon cards were worth more than her safety.
John-Michael Dooley, 35, left his sleeping daughter alone in a Target parking lot at 1 a.m. Friday — with nothing but a pillow and a blanket — so he could keep his place in line for the release of a new Pokémon trading card set. He then went home. He left her there for over an hour. It was other customers who noticed the abandoned child and called police. Not her father. Strangers.
The Scene
Officers responded around 2:30 a.m. to the Target in Charleston’s West Ashley neighborhood. They found the girl alone, wrapped in a blanket, with a pillow. Police identified the father as Dooley, of Johns Island.
Numerous customers had gathered outside the store overnight in anticipation of the release. The latest expansion for the bestselling Pokémon Trading Card Game, “Mega Evolution — Delta Reign,” went on sale Friday. Packs start at around $5.
Witnesses told police that Dooley gave the girl a pillow and blanket before leaving her asleep in line sometime after 1 a.m. After about an hour passed without his return, concerned customers called police.
When Dooley came back to the store, witnesses identified him and he was arrested. Police said he admitted that he had gone home and left his daughter unattended so he could keep his place in line.
The Charges
The child was unharmed and placed in emergency protective custody with the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. He is being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center.
The Bottom Line
A South Carolina father was arrested after leaving his sleeping 6-year-old daughter outside a Target to hold his place in line for a Pokémon card release. The child was unharmed and placed in protective custody. Dooley has been charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
My Opinion
A 6-year-old girl was left alone outside a Target at 1 a.m. so her father could keep his spot in line for Pokémon cards.
No trading card, no collection, no rare holographic Charizard is worth leaving a child alone in a parking lot. Not at 1 a.m. Not ever. But what is almost as troubling is what happened next. Dooley did not leave her there for five minutes. He left her for over an hour. He went home. He went home. While his daughter slept in a parking lot, surrounded by strangers, waiting for him to come back. It was the other customers who noticed and called the police.
The Pokémon community has a name for this kind of behaviour. They call it the “Pokémon Dad.” The parent who drags their kids to card releases, who uses them to hold places in line, who treats a child like a prop in their hobby. It is a joke online but it’s not funny in real life.
Dooley is currently facing a criminal charge as he should.. But the deeper problem is that this story is not unique. Parents leave children in hot cars. Parents leave children alone in hotels. Parents leave children in parking lots while they chase something they want. The child is always an afterthought. The hobby is always the priority.
A 6-year-old cannot protect herself. She cannot call for help. She cannot drive home. She cannot do anything except sleep in a parking lot and wait for her father to come back. He did come back. But not before strangers had to step in and do his job for him.
