Mother Denies She Prostituted Daughter

HOUSTON - A disturbing local case is putting the spotlight back on Houston as a major hub for child sex trafficking. Police say a 14-year-old girl was forced into prostitution by her own mother and grandmother.

Elizabeth Buford, 55, and her daughter Alicia Melchor, 31, are charged with compelling prostitution.

FOX 26 News briefly spoke with Melchor behind bars Friday night. Melchor said she was being treated in the medical wing of the jail for high blood pressure. She denied forcing her daughter into prostitution.

"It's a (expletive) lie. Police said she'd been prostituting herself since she was 11. There's no way. She's been in and out of custody and was staying with her dad until six months ago," said Melchor. She deferred other questions to her attorney.

Investigators, though, say the two women are convicted prostitutes strapped for cash who were forcing the young girl to 'turn tricks' to support their drug habit.

"The juvenile indicated that her mother and grandmother were assisting her in performing acts of prostitution," said Ryan Mitchell, Harris County Assistant District Attorney.

The trio had been renting a room at the Josephine Motel on Telephone Road. The owner tells FOX 26 News the family was paying $30 to $40 a month. He says he put them out once he received complaints from other tenants there was traffic into their unit at all times of the day.

On Tuesday, the Houston Police Department arrested Bufford and Melchor.

The allegations against them were outlined in probable cause court.

"The mother has been forcing her daughter into prostitution to get crack cocaine they smoked together and money for food and living fees," said the prosecutor.

In Houston, girls as young as 12 are working the streets but charging a mother and grandmother with helping them is rare.

"You don't think of your grandma doing stuff like this. Your mom and your grandma should be the people taking care of you," said Bob Sanborn, president of Children at Risk.

Sanborn has formed a private public partnership to fund a safe house for young prostitutes. The coalition has several locations picked out.

"Right now, law enforcement would tell us there's really not a good place to bring these girls, especially those who think they're better off with their traffickers, of which there are many," said Sanborn.

The 14-year-old girl will not be going back to her mother and grandmother anytime soon. Admitting she was allegedly being prostituted is a good first step to discovering a normal life, said Sanborn.

Child Protective Services is investigating but has not taken custody of the girl yet. A CPS spokeswoman is not at liberty to say where the girl is now.

Bufford and Melchor are in jail held on $20,000 bond.