Teen says men pimped her out on Craigslist

A 15-year-old runaway from Ledyard told police two men she knew convinced her to prostitute herself, advertised her services on Craigslist, then collected money from her after she had sexual encounters with strangers in a Groton motel room.

Groton Town Police arrested one of the men, 28-year-old Matthew P. Lallis, last month and charged him with second-degree sexual assault, risk of injury or impairing the morals of a minor and promoting prostitution. Lallis is being held in lieu of $150,000 bond at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center and is expected to appear June 16 in the New London court where major crimes are heard.

The investigation is continuing, according to Youth Officer Eric Banwell.

According to a court document, Ledyard police officer Troy Johnson, assigned to investigate a missing person report for a girl who ran away from home in April, tracked her to the Super 8 Motel in Groton on April 15. The girl told Johnson that Lallis offered her a place to stay and that he and another man, Kyle Westerman, talked of how they "made money prostituting girls in Connecticut and New York."

The girl said Lallis asked her if she would prostitute herself by putting an ad on Craigslist, telling her he would lose his phone, car and hotel room and would not be able to eat if she refused. She said Lallis went to the Groton Public Library and used a computer to post an ad on Craigslist, an online message board.

She said customers would send her a text message and that the men would arrange the meetings and wait at a nearby Taco Bell or in the stairwell while she had sex with the men. She said they told her to get the money "up front."

She said the two men did not allow her to go anywhere without them or talk to anyone "because they did not want her getting involved with another pimp."

She said she earned $710 performing various acts or just talking with men and that she turned over a large portion of it to Lallis.

The girl also told police she had sex with Lallis, who knew she was 15 but told her to say she was 16, which is the age of consent in Connecticut.

Groton police confronted Lallis, who said the girl had asked him to help her become a prostitute.

He said he advertised her on Craigslist as a "young teen who wants to play" and instructed interested parties to text the girl. Police searched for the ad on Craigslist but said it had been removed.

k.florin@theday.com