HOUSTON – A Houston man is accused of taking nude photographs of a young girl, beginning when she was only 11 years old.
Marc Derrick Vaughn, 38, was charged with possession of child pornography.
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A 16-year-old girl told her friend's mother that Vaughn had been taking nude photographs of her for years. The concerned parent immediately notified authorities and the Houston Metro Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force began an investigation.
The girl said it all started after her mother caught her sending nude images of herself to an unknown person on a cell phone when she was in the sixth grade. Her mother contacted police, and also told Vaughn, who was a confidant.
But instead of trying to help the girl, Vaughn victimized her even more, police say. He allegedly approached the young girl about the photos she sent out, telling her she "looked good" and was "posing well."
Vaughn, who was a photographer, allegedly lured the girl to his house and offered to do a photo shoot of her.
The girl said Vaughn gave her some kind of drink to calm her down, then asked her to remove her clothing. She said the photos were "artistic" in nature at first, but by the time she was in the seventh grade, they became more graphic.
Vaughn also bought the young girl swimsuits and lingerie to pose in. The photo shoots continued until the girl was 15 years old.
When Vaughn was confronted with the allegations, he told investigators that the pictures were modeling photos and when she was nude, she was "covering up" certain body parts with her hands. Vaughn said he was merely trying to build the young girl's self-confidence because she was "dumpy" when she was growing up.
He said he may have come close to crossing the line, but nothing was illegal. Investigators, however, found the photos were inappropriate and also found extremely graphic pornographic images featuring multiple children in his possession.
Vaughn was placed under arrest and his bail was set at $10,000.