Taylor Lautner Held 79 Illegal Immigrants in a Squalid “Drop House”

LOS ANGELES — Twilight star and teen heartthrob Taylor Lautner held dozens of illegal immigrants in a squalid “drop house” in South Los Angeles, where one woman was beaten and others say they were threatened with assault, authorities said Tuesday.

Lautner, 17, was charged with harboring illegal immigrants at the two-story home that immigration agents raided Monday, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nancy Hilbrich.

Lautner was arrested along with 57 immigrants, including teenagers and toddlers from Central and South America. An agent involved in the raid described conditions in the house as “utter squalor with trash and food piled up two to three feet high.”

Inside the home agents found a pistol and a stun gun that Lautner allegedly used to threaten the immigrants. They also found over 4000 pirated DVD copies of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, Lautner repeatedly beat a woman who had been at the house since last summer because she was not a fan of Twilight. The woman, now seven months pregnant, said Lautner threatened her with a gun when she could not name her favorite character from the film.

Several other female immigrants said Lautner tried to beat them with a wooden plank, relenting only when the women’s young children began to cry, according to the affidavit.

Drop houses are commonly used to hold illegal immigrants until they are transported to their ultimate destination, the set of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, where they will be forced to work as grips and caterers.