News Coverage

A 15-year old girl from Portland, OR, came up with an idea to teach teenage girls how to fight off an attacker after seeing news footage of a Florida girl’s abduction caught on surveillance tape.
Dallas Jessup, who has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, wrote and starred in a short film, “Just Yell Fire,” to teach girls self-defense techniques. The project became a major production with a professional crew and 100-member cast, including actors from the ABC television show,...

Local Girl Scouts, fourth to sixth grade, learned more this week than how to sell cookies, build a campfire or organize a food drive.
They watched a video about date rape, sexual assault, abduction -- and the Filipino street fighting techniques that could disable a sex predator more than double their size.
"Fire! Fire! Fire!" an actor shouted from the television.
About 30 girls from local troops huddled around the screen Wednesday, sitting on green benches and eating peanut...

Pages 18-21 of Tae Kwon Do Times Magazine July 2007: Volume 27 No. 4 Issue #158
Wouldn't it be nice if girls could go to parties without fearing they'll be raped? Wouldn't it be nice if they could go for a run or to the mall without worrying about being abducted or assaulted?
It's a beautiful day on the Clackamas Community College campus in Oregon City, Oregon. But something ugly is about to happen.
An attractive teenage girl approaches a busy bus stop. She dances in place to...

Clark County teens Dallas Jessup, from left, Matthew Wadzita and Catherine Wehage starred in a movie written by Jessup and Wehage titled “Just Yell Fire.” The film, which offers self-defense tips for girls, started out as a community service project. It has attracted national media attention.
The self-defense movie "Just Yell Fire" and its creators, Dallas Jessup and Catherine Wehage, are back in the national spotlight.
Within the past year, the two Clark County teens...

Page 40-41 of June/July 2007 issue
Dallas Jessup
Age: 15
Hometown: Vancouver, Washington
Why She's a Class Act: She's putting predators out of business.
Learning to protect yourself against kidnapping and rape could be the difference between becoming a statistic...and coming home tonight. When Dallas Jessup was 14, she saw the scary real-life footage of a local teenage girl being abducted in her hometown. And since the security tape was constantly running on the...

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
Summer 2007, Vol. 4 No. 2
excerpt:
When Dallas Jessup of Vancouver, Wash. watched a TV news story about a girl who was abducted and later killed, she got an idea.
Dallas, who has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, decided to make a film to teach teenage girls how to fight back against an attacker.
When she did some research, Dallas was surprised and disappointed to learn there was hardly any information for young girls on...

Link to The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards
Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning Pays Tribute to Young Heroes as part of Four-Day Recognition Events
WASHINGTON.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Two young Washington residents, Dallas Jessup, 15, of Vancouver and Alexander Jonlin, 13, of Seattle were honored in the nation’s capital last night for their outstanding volunteer work during the presentation of The 2007 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. The two young people – along with...

Morning show: Ichabod and the Waking Crew

From page 128
Moment of Truth: In February 2004, Dallas saw a TV news clip of a security video in which 11-year-old Carlie Brucia of Sarasota, Fla. was led away from a car wash by Joseph P. Smith, who was later convicted of her rape and murder. "It was so chilling," Dallas recalls. "I thought, 'This could happen to my best friend.'" So Dallas, who holds a black belt in tae kwon do and is certified in Filipino street fighting, recruited friend Catherine Wehage, 16, as well as a...