Couple trafficking woman ‘hunted her down’ as she tried to escape in NC, feds say
A North Carolina couple was convicted of sex trafficking in the case of a woman who federal prosecutors said was forced into prostitution, then rescued after her mother reported her missing.
Dartez Omar Faulk and Rosalind Carol Comfort, both of Wilmington, were found guilty of three charges in a sex trafficking case in Raleigh federal court on Sept. 25, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina said in a Sept. 26 news release.
Faulk’s court-appointed public defender Edward D. Gray told McClatchy News via email on Sept. 29 that “As this matter is set for sentencing, Mr. Faulk is limited in what can be said at this time.”
“Despite the judgment rendered by the jury, Mr. Faulk continues to assert that his role in this matter was not adequately reflected by the evidence presented,” Gray said.“He continues to assert that he was not involved in any human trafficking.”
Comfort’s court-appointed defense attorney did not immediately return McClatchy News’ request for comment Sept. 29.
Faulk and Comfort are accused of luring a 26-year-old woman into prostitution in January 2024 by exploiting her addiction to drugs and an abusive relationship. They also threatened to kill her, according to prosecutors.
From Jan. 22 through Jan. 29, 2024, they forced her into commercial sex acts “using violence, threats, drugs, and intimidation,” prosecutors said.
They made the woman stay at an apartment where they sex trafficked her, kept all of her money and refused to let her leave, according to prosecutors.
At one point, Faulk and Comfort “hunted her down when she tried to escape,” prosecutors said.
The woman’s mother called 911 to report her daughter as missing after prosecutors said she received text messages from Faulk on Jan. 28, 2024.
Faulk threatened he would kill her daughter if the woman did not pay him $3,500, according to prosecutors.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office began investigating Faulk and Comfort with the help of the FBI and discovered online advertisements linked to them, prosecutors said.
The woman was rescued by authorities, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Investigators learned Faulk and Comfort exploited another woman, a 20-year-old, who was lured into commercial sex acts, prosecutors said.
They found that the couple advertised “her for sex as she lay unconscious from a drug overdose,” according to prosecutors.
“These depraved reprobates preyed on vulnerable young women to make money from their suffering and addiction,” U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said in a statement. “Mercifully, one woman’s mama bear quickly sprang into action when she could not reach her daughter after a few days and promptly called law enforcement.”
Human trafficking is a crime “involving the exploitation of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Traffickers profit off their victims by forcing them to engage in sex acts or do labor.
.jpg)