PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – A 34-year-old Patrick Air Force Base staff sergeant has been jailed after a federal investigation into communications that he had online with an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old girl.
News 6 partner Florida Today said Thomas Allen Vaughn was arrested in Pinellas County on a criminal complaint for enticement of a minor for sex after an investigation that began in mid-October.
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Investigators from the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations said Vaughn responded to a free online classified ad on Craigslist.com titled, "Looking for another Airman." The ad was placed by an undercover agent who posed as a brother offering to facilitate a relationship with his "stepsister," reports said.
Vaughn, who lives on Patrick Air Force Base, responded, using a masked email address and sending a photo of him in his service uniform taken from a bathroom. Investigators said Vaughn texted with the person and exchanged photographs.
At some point, police said Vaughn made contact with the child, sending shirtless photos, discussing what he believed were shared hobbies including soccer, running and horses, a criminal complaint say.
The contact escalated when Vaughn offered to meet the girl at her home, authorities said.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.