Man known to lurk near Houston south side school bus stop tried to lure girl with candy, mom says

Brooke Taylor Image
Wednesday, October 25, 2023
13-year-old daughter lured with candy at HISD bus stop, mom says
Only ABC13 has a mom's story in the wake of what she described as a man's frightening attempt to lure her 13-year-old daughter.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A mother with a daughter in the Houston Independent School District jumped into action after she saw a man try to lure her daughter at a school bus stop with candy.

Tiffany Jackson said her 13-year-old daughter attends Lanier Middle School, but the bus stop is outside Ruby Thompson Elementary School on Tierwester Street.

On Friday morning, Jackson dropped her daughter off when she noticed a man walk up to the girl.

"I see him approaching her, and he was like, 'You want some candy?' And she told him no, and he got mad," Jackson told ABC13.

Police identified the man as Mimi Kumango, who is charged with enticing a child and behind bars on a $5,000 bond.

According to Jackson, Kumango is familiar to people in the area who have seen him lurking around the bus stop before, always with a bag of candy in hand.

"It's like a big orange bag," Jackson recalled. "It got chocolate. I read it, but it was already open."

Jackson got out of her car after she witnessed what happened and confronted the man. The two got into a heated confrontation, she said.

"He said, 'You just messed up everything.' I said, 'What did I mess up? This is my daughter, are you sick?'" Jackson remembered.

HISD police arrested Kumango, but Jackson believes the district needs to do more to keep kids safe. She said she would like to see HISD police or security at the bus stops.

"I wish HISD put more protection around their kids, period," Jackson said. "They have no police, period."

ABC13 reached out to HISD, who said it couldn't comment any further on the incident.

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