A South Carolina man has been arrested after allegedly leaving his six-year-old daughter in line at Target at 1 AM to save his spot for Pokemon trading cards.
As relayed by ABC News, witnesses said they saw John-Michael Dooley, 35, give his daughter a pillow and a blanket at around 1 AM last week before leaving her. After about an hour, customers, concerned for the girl, notified police.
Dooley came back to the store around 2:30 AM, was identified by other people in line, and was arrested by police. According to police, Dooley owned up to leaving his young daughter unattended in line so she could save his place in line.
South Carolina Social Services have taken the girl into emergency protective custody, and Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child.
Pokemon trading cards remain incredibly popular, with interest surging this year specifically, as people hunt for rare cards and then try to flip them for profit.
“It is one of our fastest-growing categories that we’ve seen and one of the largest contributors to [our] growth over the last number of quarters,” eBay executive Adam Ireland told CNBC.
