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Mother, Son Accused Of Pimping 15-Year Old Girl

Girl Allegedly Pimped Out To More Than 1200 Men

Reporting
David Begnaud
VALLEJO (CBS13) ― A mother and son have been arrested on charges of sex trafficking. They have been accused of controlling and abusing a young girl and selling her for sex acts.

37-year old Lavern Vaughn and her 20-year old son Lavor Carter were arrested by FBI agents in their Vallejo apartment. Federal prosecutors said they found 680 postings on Craigslist, where Carter allegedly pimped the 15-year old girl for sex.

"She says, ultimately, she had as many as 1,200 customers for Carter," said Larry Brown, first assistant U.S. Attorney. "When she would talk about wanting to leave he would threaten to kill her and use physical harm."

The federal indictment alleges carter would whip her with a belt and plastic rod, burn her with a lighter, or strike her. She reportedly tried to leave Carter on multiple occasions, but he told her that if she left, she would not leave alive.

In the same indictment, Carter allegedly duct taped the minor to a chair inside an apartment and left her there for 12 hours. Other accusations include pouring boiling water on her leg and chest, and locking her in a garage all night long.

Prosecutors allege that Carter's mother would drive the girl all over northern California to have sex with men, making up to $300 a day.

"Presumably there was financial benefits for the mother in having her son run a prostitution ring," said Brown

We asked Gail Vaughn, mother and grandmother of the woman and young man arrested by FBI agents, if they were really pimping out a young girl. "No," she said. "The girl they're accused of pimping [isn't] a kid. She's 16 and has a two-year old daughter."

But she's still a minor under the law. "Yeah, but we didn't know that."

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