Charges connected to Beaufort County sex trafficking ring
By Mike McCombs and Delayna Earley
The Island News
Two more people have been charged in relation to a sex trafficking ring in Beaufort County.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged Kalynn Jade Cloud, 20, of Port Royal; Amani Nekwan Vaughn, 30, of Port Royal; and Guy Frank Talley, III, 27, of Beaufort with Harboring an Escaped Convict.
Cloud and Vaughn were charged on Thursday, July 18, booked into the Beaufort County Detention Center and released the same day. The women each posted a $10,000 cash bond and a $10,000 surety bond, according to court records.
Cloud’s preliminary hearing is set for 9 a.m., Friday, Aug. 9. Vaughn’s first court appearance is Friday, Sept. 20.
As reported last week, Talley was charged with Harboring an Escaped Convict the next day, Friday, July 19, at the Beaufort County Detention Center, where he was already incarcerated, facing charges of Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age; Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — 2nd Degree; and Sexual Exploitation of a Minor — 3rd Degree.
Talley’s bond was set Tuesday, July 23 at $110,000 with GPS monitoring and house detention. He can only leave home for work or medical or legal appointments. He posted bond and was released Monday, July 29. Talley has a preliminary hearing set for 9:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 9.
The Harboring an Escaped Convict charges are related to the June 9 escape of Port Royal’s Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 29, from the Jasper County Detention Center. Barnes was located on Sunday, July 7, by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Jacksonville, Fla.
Barnes was extradited to South Carolina and charged by SLED on July 11, with Trafficking in Persons, Victim Under 18 Years of Age; two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor – 2nd Degree, two counts of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor – 3rd Degree; Contributing to Delinquency of a Minor; and Unlawful Escape. He has a preliminary hearing set for 9:30 a.m., Friday, Aug. 9.
According to warrants issued July 15 by Beaufort County Magistrate Robert Ferguson to SLED Special Agents Logan Fey and Tara Donahue, the defendants did, July 9 or July 10, “unlawfully and knowingly harbor an escaped inmate (Jaquan Duvall Barnes) who was confined in a local detention facility. Barnes was awaiting trial and further sentencing for additional offenses but escaped with the use of tools and a prior arranged escape plan.”
The warrant alleges these acts were arranged between Barnes, Vaughn, Cloud and Talley, and Barnes was then harbored at a co-defendant’s Beaufort County residence.
According to a source with knowledge of the case, Talley harbored Barnes at his own Beaufort County residence before Barnes fled to Florida.
These cases will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Special Victims Prosecution Unit.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
