News

Actions

‘Person of Interest’ in Alleged Sexual Assault Captured

Posted at 6:12 PM, Nov 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-15 18:13:00-05

UPDATE: The Supervisory Deputy US. Marshal for the Western District of Michigan says Marquis Vaughn is no longer on the loose. Joe Guzman says Vaughn was  arrested by the Lansing Police Department in Lansing on December 20.

-James Gemmell/ FOX 17

————————

EARLIER STORY:

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Marquis Adam Vaughn is considered a person of interest in the case in a sexual assault investigation, according to the US Marshals. However, a local mother said he’s much more than that and claims Vaughn raped her 15-year-old daughter.

“He’s ruined our family,” Sara Coleman said.

Coleman said she met Vaughn on Facebook a couple of years ago and started dating him this past July.

“He told me he had just got out of jail for a marijuana charge. So he was on probation, but come to find out it wasn’t a marijuana charge,” she said.

The real reason didn’t surface for months. But in the meantime, she said the man who identified himself as ‘Marquis Harris’ lived on and off with her family in Kent City for 3 months, but she said he was never honest about who he was.

Coleman said, “The only thing he didn’t lie about was his age.”

In October, she said she had enough.

“I kicked him out, made him leave. Four days later, [my daughter] got ahold of him on Facebook,” Coleman stated.

Coleman said that’s when her 15-year-old daughter, who FOX 17 is not identifying, reached out to Marquis for some marijuana.

“[My daughter] likes to smoke weed. So she got ahold of him to get some free weed,” the mother said.

Coleman said Marquis and another woman picked her daughter up from a friend’s house and drove to Ambrose Park in Plainfield Township. But the 15-year-old girl said the other woman soon left the park and left her alone with Marquis.

“And that is when he duct-taped her and raped her one time,” she said.

The teen said the woman returned, picked them both up and drove up to a location in Edmore. The woman then left Marquis alone with the 15-year-old again, along with a tent.

“That’s where he raped her again and was beating on her. She was full of bruises. She had bruises from her neck down,” Coleman said.

The girl said the woman came back 8 hours later to pick them up, and she told her mom what happened after getting back to her friend’s house.

“But she had came home full of bruises and marks on her neck, crying, and she’s been a mess since then,” Coleman recalled.

“And he’s hiding out pretty good. I guess. Very scared,” she added.

Coleman said Marquis texted her saying he didn’t do anything.

While working with police, Coleman said she learned ‘Marquis Harris’ wasn’t the man’s real name and that he’s a registered sex offender. According to state records, he was sentenced in February for failing to check in with authorities. His real name is Marquis Adam Vaughn.

Coleman said her daughter is “breaking down and says she just wants her life back. She’s jumpy, having nightmares. He ruined her, and it’s not funny. He thinks it’s a game.”

Complicating matters, Coleman said she recently found out she was pregnant by Marquis Vaughn.

“And I had to go through an abortion – because of this – to save her because she couldn’t look at a baby knowing that’s who raped her.”

The girl said, “I want to see him go to prison.”

“She wants her justice,” Coleman said.

If you know anything about his whereabouts call the US Marshals office at1-877-926-8332.