48-year-old Salvador Escobar is accused of holding a woman as a sex slave for more than five years, and withholding basic needs like food.
Randolph County court documents reveal the alleged sex trafficking occurred between 1/01/2015 and 1/22/2020, the day of Escobar's arrest.
A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Transportation said Escobar was an active employee at the time of his arrest, but would not comment further other than to say the DOT is cooperating fully with local officials.
WFMY News 2 also went through Escobar's criminal record. He had an Assault on a Female charge in 2014, and Carrying a Concealed Weapon charge in 2016.
The Randolph County Sheriff's Office says Escobar lived on Old Lexington Road in Asheboro.
Neighbors say Escobar moved there recently, and they never really saw him. But say it is concerning that an alleged human trafficker lived among them.
"It's scary, because they're always out in the yard playing," one grandmother said of her two young grandchildren living so close to Escobar's home. "It’s a very nice neighborhood, so it is shocking to hear there was someone that was human trafficking, I'm very surprised."
Escobar is charged with Felony Human Trafficking of an Adult Victim. He made his first appearance in court Friday morning.
He opted to hire his own lawyer. His next court date is February 12.