South Carolina Father Charged After Leaving 6-Year-Old Asleep in Overnight Target Pokémon Card Line

At about 2:30 on the morning of Nov. 6, Charleston police officers were sent to a Target store on a report of a child with no adult nearby. They found a 6-year-old girl who had been asleep in a line of customers camped out overnight for the release of a new Pokémon trading card set.

Officers learned that the girl had come to the store with her father, 35-year-old John-Michael Dooley, and had waited in line with him among the crowd. Sometime after 1 a.m., police said, Dooley gave her a pillow and a blanket, left her asleep in the line, and walked away.

An hour went by and he did not come back. According to the department's news release, customers grew concerned after about an hour without his return and contacted police.

Dooley eventually returned to the store. Witnesses identified him, and officers took him into custody. In questioning, investigators said, he admitted he had left his daughter to hold his place in line while he went home.

Police did not say whether Dooley meant to buy the cards for himself or for his daughter. The release in question was the newest Pokémon expansion, Mega Evolution—Delta Reign. The Japanese franchise, built around fictional creatures, remains hugely popular with children and adult collectors alike. Standard booster packs sell for roughly $5, while rare cards can bring thousands of dollars on the secondary market, which helps explain why people line up in the middle of the night.

Police confirmed the girl was not hurt. She was placed in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

Dooley was charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Online records from the Al Cannon Detention Center show he has since been released. The case now moves through the court system, and the girl's situation remains with the state's social services agency.