WILMINGTON — A Wilmington man faces up to 45 years in prison after being prosecuted for his involvement in an escort company that operated for more than a decade in town.
Christopher Todd Evans, 41, was sentenced today to serve between 25 and 45 months for sex trafficking and running a prostitution enterprise. Evans operated Cape Fear Entertainers before it was rebranded into Cape Fear Escorts out of a downtown Wilmington office.
It’s estimated Evans’ business prostituted more than 200 adult and minor females. According to the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office, he would have victims sign “bogus contracts” that they wouldn’t engage in such behaviors.
“Evans used manipulation, control, threats, and occasionally violence to coerce women to prostitute and give him their earnings,” a press release indicated. “He intimidated victims and made them believe that he had connections that would look out for him and that no one would ever help them.”
The assistant district attorney, Connie Jordan, prosecuted the case. Evidence from, according to the DA’s office, showed Evans’s exploited and abused women, leaving many struggling with addiction and trauma.
The prostitution ring was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, both of which corroborated the victims’ accounts.
Jordan stated: “These crimes are difficult to bring to light as the victims very rarely come forward. I have been amazed at the strength and determination of these young women who were willing to share their experiences.”
After Evans is released from prison, he will be required to register as a sex offender with the NC Sex Offender and Public Protection Registry for a 30 years.
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