LENOIR, N.C. — Police rescued a woman who was held against her will inside a Lenoir apartment, and they’re trying to determine if there are more human trafficking victims connected to her case.
Neighbors called police after they saw a lot of people going in and out of the apartment, according to investigators.
[Attorney: Human trafficking victim faces deportation 18 years after forced slavery]
The case started as a narcotics investigation, but police arrested a woman in connection with human trafficking.
“This victim was being held against her will,” said Capt. Andy Wilson, with the Lenoir Police Department.
Lenoir-new information tonight about an arrest for human trafficking right across the street from a local park. The victims reaction when police arrived at the apartment tonight on eyewitness news at five. pic.twitter.com/M1ySNXxlcT
— Dave Faherty (@FahertyWSOC9) September 21, 2020
A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, said she saw cars stopping by several times a day and going into the apartment but not through the front door.
“I saw people parking in our parking spaces and walking behind her building,” the neighbor told Channel 9.
Police charged Breotta Pringle with felony human trafficking of an adult victim. The warrant states that the victim was “held in involuntary servitude or sexual servitude” in the apartment, which is across the street from Broyhill Park.
Police said the victim was still inside the apartment when they arrested Pringle, who was taken to jail.
“Removing her from that atmosphere, it was like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders,” Wilson said. “It was a sigh of relief for her to be out of that environment.”
Police said local and state agencies are helping the victim recover.
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