SOHO Karen: Parents of Black Teen Falsely Accused Of Stealing iPhone Seek Therapy for Traumatized Son
Keyon Harrold Jr., the son of a Grammy Award-winning trumpet player, who was falsely accused of stealing a woman’s phone at a hotel in New York City, is now reportedly seeking therapy.
According to Harrold’s parents, Keyon Sr. and his ex-wife Kat, told TMZ, their 14-year-old was left “seriously traumatized” after allegedly being harassed and assaulted by Miya Ponsetto, 22, at Manhattan’s Arlo Hotel in SoHo. The viral event has caused them to speak with therapists to reportedly place their son in trauma therapy. TMZ reports that the teen asked his father “why me?” after being wrongfully targeted by Ponsetto.
“I have tried to instil dignity in my son. I’m trying to build his ego, because for so long the ego of Black men have been shattered,” said Keyon Sr explaining that his son “wonders if he’s good enough to own an iPhone, or whether he’s out of place at a nice hotel.”
Keyon Harrold took to Instagram to show the assault on his son by a then unidentified woman at the time New York hotel on Saturday (Dec. 26). The woman falsely accused the teenager of stealing her iphone.
The video depicts the woman frantically arguing with a hotel manager. “Take the case off, that's mine,” she protests. “Literally, give it back.” Harrold responded by saying, “You think there’s only one iPHone made in the world,” before the woman lets them know that she won’t let them leave the hotel and then lunges at them.
It was later confirmed that Ponsetto was not a guest of the hotel, having checked out three days before, and that she found her phone when an Uber driver returned it to her.
Chief of Detectives for the New York Police Department Rodney Harrison said on Tuesday (Dec. 29) that after reviewing the surveillance tape of the confrontation they are considering charging the woman assault and possibly grand larceny or attempted robbery, CNN reports.
