Charges dismissed against six defendants in Cape Fear Escorts case
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Charges have been dismissed against six people who were indicted in connection with the Cape Fear Escorts human trafficking investigation, according to court records filed in New Hanover County.
The dismissals affect Christopher Slate Arrowood, Chandler David Anderson, Dustin Lee Anderson, Jesse Earl Bright, Michael Hunter Snow and Jennifer Jones. All had been charged with promoting and profiting from prostitution as part of a broader investigation into Cape Fear Escorts, also known as Cape Fear Entertainers.
The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office and the Coastal Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force announced the arrests in 2023 following a months-long investigation. Investigators alleged Cape Fear Escorts recruited women with promises of lucrative dancing opportunities, then had them engage in commercial sex acts while turning over the proceeds.
In dismissal filings signed by Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Barrett Temple, prosecutors cited insufficient evidence to prove the defendants knowingly and willfully committed the offenses.
The filings state prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prove Arrowood, Dustin Anderson, Snow and Jones knowingly and willfully committed the alleged crimes. Bright’s dismissal notes that a witness recanted a previous statement that he drove her to a prostitution-related encounter and states there was insufficient evidence to prove he knowingly and willfully committed the offense.
In Chandler Anderson’s case, prosecutors wrote that, “in the interests of equity and justice,” co-defendants’ cases had been dismissed because of a lack of proof of knowledge and willfulness, and that Anderson’s admission was the only evidence of willfulness.
The dismissals do not affect the federal conviction of Christopher Todd Evans, who prosecutors identified as the operator of Cape Fear Escorts.
Last year, Evans was sentenced to more than 27 years in federal prison after admitting to sex trafficking and operating a prostitution enterprise. Federal prosecutors said Evans ran Cape Fear Escorts and Cape Fear Entertainers between 2010 and 2022 and prostituted more than 200 adult and minor victims.
