A federal jury in Raleigh has convicted Dartez Omar Faulk and Rosalind Carol Comfort of three counts of sex trafficking after a four-day trial. The verdict was delivered on September 25, 2025.
“These depraved reprobates preyed on vulnerable young women to make money from their suffering and addiction,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “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. The FBI and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office acted with admirable alacrity and remarkably rescued the daughter before something worse happened. A team of Federal Prosecutors fought hard to serve these miscreants justice for their heinous acts. Now these villains can expect to receive decades in prison they earned at sentencing. All of New Hanover County should sleep more peacefully knowing these two will not prowl the streets for a long time.”
“Human traffickers often prey on the vulnerability of their victims, making empty promises for a better life with a stable and loving home. It’s nothing more than a bait-and-switch scheme. Quickly, they force victims into sex or labor trafficking, for personal profit. The FBI and our local law enforcement partners will never stop working to combat trafficking of any kind in our communities,” said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Faulk and Comfort targeted a 26-year-old woman by exploiting her drug addiction and abusive relationship between January 22 and 29, 2024. They forced her into prostitution using violence, threats, drugs, intimidation, kept all earnings from her activities, restricted her movement within an apartment, and pursued her when she tried to escape. During this period, Faulk threatened to kill the victim if certain demands were not met; Comfort acknowledged being seen with the victim on camera.
On January 28, Faulk sent threatening text messages to the victim’s mother demanding $3,500 or he would kill her daughter. The mother reported her daughter missing by calling 911. Investigators from the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office located online advertisements linked to Faulk and Comfort on January 29 and coordinated with the FBI to rescue the victim.
Further investigation found that Faulk and Comfort had also lured another young woman—20 years old—into commercial sex work; they advertised her services while she was unconscious from a drug overdose.
The case was investigated by the FBI, New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, and Carolina Beach Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Blondel and Ashley Foxx are prosecuting.
Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina announced the verdict after it was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.
Additional information about this case is available through court records at the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or via PACER under Case No.7:24-CR-00091-D-BM.
