A South Carolina man has been arrested and accused of leaving his 6-year-old daughter asleep outside a Target store overnight to hold his place in line for Pokémon cards, it has been reported.
According to the Washington Post, John-Michael Dooley, 35, had been waiting with his daughter outside the store this past Friday in Charleston’s West Ashley district, where a throng of Pokémon fans had slowly gathered overnight in anticipation of a newly released set of the popular trading cards.
A news release from the Charleston Police Department states that officers arrived at the store around 2:30am after receiving reports of an unattended child. Witnesses at the scene told police that Dooley handed his daughter a blanket and a pillow sometime after 1am, before leaving her asleep in his spot in line. Wheen Dooley failed to return after an hour, these concerned witnesses were forced to contact the authorities.
Eventually Dooley returned to the store and was promptly arrested. In an interview with authorities, he admitted to police that he had gone home and left his young daughter unattended so that he could hold his spot in the line, according to the Charleston Police.
Dooley was then charged with unlawful conduct toward a child. Police said that the girl was unharmed and immediately placed into emergency protective custody.
This shocking act of Pokémon card-related parental neglect is in stark contrast to last week’s news that the father of late Pokémon influencer Avery the Poké Kid had made a very moving plea to The Pokémon Company to create a special card in honor of his son. On his Instagram, Avery’s father Christian Garcia said, “I want to make a plea to anyone, literally anyone from The Pokémon Company: If you’re watching this video, I want to figure out how to immortalize him somehow in the trading card game he loved so much.” At the time of writing, there has been no official response from the Japanese company in regarding Garcia’s request.
Pokémon Trading Cards, which is currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, was recently announced as one of this year’s inductees into National Toy Hall of Fame, alongside Bingo, Care Bears, and the classic slide, and beating out nominees like Bop It!, mahjong, and Polly Pocket.
“Pokémon TCG’s widespread appeal and global presence are undeniable,” said curator Mirek Stolee. “The Pokémon TCG successfully adapted card game formulas established by its predecessors, making it more accessible and infusing it with the lovable Pokémon creatures.”
Tristan Ogilvie is a senior video editor at IGN based in Sydney, Australia. He has 25 years of experience covering video games, having served as Deputy Editor on Official PlayStation 2 Magazine Australia and as Editor of Official Xbox 360 Magazine Australia, before joining IGN in 2009. You can find him on Bluesky @tristanogilvie.bsky.social