Man kept sex slave for 5 years and withheld ‘basic needs,’ North Carolina cops say
A North Carolina man is accused of keeping a person as a sex slave for five years, police say.
Salvador Espinoza Escobar, 48 of Asheboro, is accused of keeping the person in “sexual servitude” since January 2015 by withholding “basic needs” in “exchange” for forced sex acts, according to a release from the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office.
Information from the National Human Trafficking Tip Line led the Sheriff’s Office to start investigating the case Wednesday, according to a release from the Sheriff’s Office.
Escobar was arrested Thursday, according to county jail records.
He is charged with felony human trafficking and is being held in the Randolph County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Officials are still investigating the case, and more charges are possible, the release says.
Information about the victim’s condition and identity won’t be released for safety and privacy reasons, the Sheriff’s Office said.
But the Sheriff’s Office says it is working with World Relief Triad, an organization that helps human trafficking survivors and others, and with social services to help the victim.
January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month, the Sheriff’s Office says.
There were 2,203 cases of human trafficking reported last year, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. There were 132 cases reported in North Carolina.
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, call the hotline 1-888-373-7888, the release says.
This story was originally published January 23, 2020 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Man kept sex slave for 5 years and withheld ‘basic needs,’ North Carolina cops say."
