Khaila Wilks Czereda

Khaila was only 19 years old when she met 30-year-old Anthony Crum online in 2015. As a teenager, she was vulnerable to his predatory manipulation, unaware of the warning signs. Anthony openly sought younger women and quickly established control over Khaila’s movements and friendships, isolating her from support. Within weeks, his temper turned violent and verbally abusive, but Khaila blamed herself, hoping he would change.

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In early 2016, when Khaila discovered she was pregnant, she believed it might soften Anthony’s cruelty. Instead, the abuse escalated. At just three months pregnant, Anthony choked her into unconsciousness during one of his rages. From then on, he regularly punched, slapped, and shoved her, forcing her to endure months of brutal violence while carrying their unborn child. His cruelty had no limits—once, he forced Khaila outside in freezing temperatures wearing only underwear for over an hour, refusing to let her back in. She developed hypothermia and was hospitalized, but still, she blamed herself.

 

By the time Khaila was eight months pregnant, she feared Anthony would kill her and their baby. With her mother Christina’s help, she finally escaped when Anthony was at work. When he found out, he stalked and terrorized her, pounding on doors and circling the house in his car for weeks. Christina stood guard with a baseball bat, ensuring his threats didn’t escalate further. His arrest for drunken disorderly conduct gave them temporary relief, but Anthony never stopped his campaign of control.

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The Fight for Her Daughter

Iris was born in September 2016, a miracle survivor of the abuse Khaila endured. For the first six months, mother and daughter lived safely in Christina’s home under a restraining order against Anthony. However, he used manipulative tactics to lure Khaila into believing he had changed. Under the guise of seeing his daughter, Anthony abducted Iris during a brief visit in 2020 and never returned her.

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For eight months (2020-2021), Khaila did everything in her power to get her daughter back, pleading with the legal system for help, but she was met with inaction and indifference. From 2021 to 2023, Anthony moved Iris across multiple states, evading authorities and leaving behind a trail of legal violations and instability.

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In May 2023, after two years without any news of her daughter, Iris’ school contacted her grandmother, Christina, reporting that Iris had been abandoned. Anthony later returned Iris to Christina battered, malnourished, and scarred from abuse—with cigarette burns, missing patches of hair, and severe signs of neglect. In a recorded conversation, Iris confirmed that Anthony had inflicted these injuries upon her.

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Despite overwhelming evidence of abuse, California and Tennessee authorities refused to act, allowing Iris to remain under the control of the same people who harmed her.

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A Target of State Violence

Rather than holding Anthony accountable, the legal system criminalized Khaila for trying to protect her daughter.

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Using a 2018 custody order that had long been overturned, Anthony’s family falsely claimed Khaila had kidnapped Iris and taken her to Tennessee. Despite the 2020 ruling affirming Khaila’s sole permanent custody, the Child Abduction Unit (CAU), law enforcement, and the courts took the Crums at their word.

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While five months pregnant, Khaila was arrested, extradited to California, and held on a staggering $1.1 million bail. The media sensationalized her arrest, painting her as a fugitive while failing to report on the abuse, neglect, and racial discrimination that led to this moment.

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The Fight for Freedom and Accountability

Khaila Wilks Czereda’s story is not just about one mother’s struggle—it is about the broader criminalization of Black mothers, the systemic disregard for the safety of Black children, and the state’s ongoing protection of white men, even in cases of violence and abuse.

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She is currently wrongfully incarcerated, while Dale Crum and his family—who have ties to white nationalism and the Ku Klux Klan—continue to control Iris’ fate.

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A Mother’s Strength in the Face of Injustice

Despite enduring racial violence, state repression, and wrongful imprisonment, Khaila Wilks Czereda remains an unwavering force in the fight for her daughter.

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She is not just a victim of a parasitic system—she is a survivor, a warrior, and a mother who refuses to be silenced.

 

We will not stop until Khaila is free, Iris is safe, and those responsible for this injustice are held accountable.

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#JusticeForKhaila #WhereIsIrisCrum #ProtectBlackFamilies #BelieveBlackWomen