#StandWithSophie: Texas girl's mom Kelly Long slams ex's viral campaign, says 'can’t wait to hold my babies'
Kelly Long, the mother of nine-year-old Sophie, has spoken out for the first time since her ex-partner, Michael Long, launched the viral #StandWithSophie campaign on Facebook, in which he accused Kelly's fiance and other men of having sexually abused his daughter when she was in her mother's custody.
Since then, a lot has transpired, including the Routzon Law Firm announcing a fraud alert for the viral “Stand with Sophie” GoFundMe Page after extensive evidence and documents provided by medical professionals, Child Protective Services (CPS), and the Frisco Police Department of Texas show that these claims against Kelly were entirely unfounded.
Although Kelly remained mum as the entire case unfolded before her eyes, in order to protect her kids, including Sophie, she recently issued the following statement, which was emailed to MEA WorldWide (MEAWW): “I have been hesitant to speak out because as a concerned mother, my foremost priority is to protect the safety and dignity of all of my children, including Sophie. This entire situation has been heartbreaking, terrifying and beyond comprehension. I am just putting one foot in front of the other and will do everything I can to protect, shield and help all three of my children somehow process the trauma they are experiencing. I can’t wait to hold my babies in my arms again.”
We previously reported that just days after Michael was granted full custody of his daughter and her two younger brothers on September 9, several administrators and YouTube influencers who had been diligently working and updating people on the #StandWithSophie campaign have come forward to allege that Michael had lied about the kind of abuse his daughter went through just to keep the campaign trending and make money off of it.
“We have alerted the authorities and attorneys are doing everything they can to warn the public about the false nature of these claims. Michael Long’s personal vendetta against his ex-wife has now escalated to dangerous levels,” said a family spokesperson. “We are unfortunately dealing with a very volatile and increasingly dangerous situation. Michael Long will seemingly stop at nothing to destroy his ex-wife, even if it wreaks massive psychological damage on his family and involves stealing money from the public through false claims."
The fraud alert against the fundraiser for the nine-year-old came just days after Michael's “Stand with Sophie” Facebook page was taken down following calls of violence against Kelly. The page also disseminated false information to unaware members of the public. The mother's residential address was leaked on social media causing an angry mob to gather outside her house carrying firearms.
The Texas police issued the following disclaimer: “While the Frisco Police Department will not usually offer further comment on cases that are this sensitive in nature, we would like the public to know that the child, in this case, is safe and staying at a safe location.” At the time of the statement, Kelly and her children were hiding in a hotel in order to keep safe from the mob.
Under the direction of CPS, Sophie, and her brothers have all undergone extensive interviews with forensic psychologists after authorities fund no evidence of any sexual abuse or neglect, nor evidence to support Michael's claims. During the interviews, Sophie did not have any outcries for help and was reportedly only known to so in the presence of her father and stepmother Kourtney Chalmers during self-produced videos.
It all started when Sophie was seen screaming for help in a shocking viral video accusing her mother Kelly's fiance of sexually abusing her when she was dragged out of her father's car by her grandma during a custody exchange. “What happened was I unlocked the car, her grandma showed up and it looked like an abduction in the back of my car. Thank God I was filming. But this is the most helpless feeling I've ever felt in my life — my daughter was screaming for her life while I was holding a video camera and that's all I could do,” Michael said about the video in a Daily Mail interview.
After Sophie was reunited with her father, YouTuber Anne Elise, who spoke to her family members reported on her channel that Sophie was heard screaming in the bathroom one evening while she was staying with her father over the weekend. When her father and stepmother ran in to check on her, Sophie was allegedly in a “massive amount of pain” and it hurt “so badly that they had to take her to the emergency room.”
Her family members alleged that while in the hospital, Sophie confided to them that “there were multiple men” at the hotel room she was staying with her mother Kelly while in her custody last week. She disclosed that she was “separated” from the others and isolated on her own. “She disclosed of being assaulted by multiple men and, once again, by Jake Bellington, Kelly's boyfriend.” Elise said in her latest podcast 10 to Life, noting that Bellington was already court-ordered not to be around the child. “They violated that court order. Not only was the boyfriend there, but other men were also in the room assaulting her.”