Police: 2 men accused of sex trafficking in Lake County

Two Chicago men are in Lake County jail after being arrested for forcing a 23-year-old downstate woman to work as a prostitute, authorities said.

Aaron Thurmond, 22, and Jeffrey Horton, 27, have been charged with counts of trafficking in persons/involuntary servitude, promoting prostitution and money laundering, Lake County Assistant State's Attorney Ken LaRue said.

Thurmond is held on $250,000 bond, while Horton is held on $100,000 bond.

Mundelein Police Chief Eric Guenther said Thurmond, Horton, and the Champaign-area woman were traveling through Mundelein about 11:15 p.m. on April 3 when an officer noticed the headlights of their vehicle were off.

The officer made a traffic stop, Guenther said, and during a vehicle search found an unspecified amount of marijuana.

During police questioning of the car's occupants, the woman told officers she had just been paid $300 to have sex, and was heading to second location to meet with another client, LaRue said.

She also told officers that Thurmond and Horton had forced her to work as a prostitute for more than a year, and that they would force her to perform at least three sex acts a day for $300 each, LaRue said.

He added that she told officers she had tried to quit last year, but the men beat her when she tried to escape.

While being processed by police in Mundelein, Thurmond and Horton threatened the arresting officers, Guenther said. He said he could not release any additional information because the case is under investigation.

Their next court dates were not immediately known.