MEDIA RELEASE

 Contact:  Angie Grube
980-781-3049
agrube@ncsbi.gov

March 11, 2020

THREE ARRESTED IN WAYNE COUNTY HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASE

(Raleigh, NC) - On Monday, March 9, 2020, special agents with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and investigators with the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a residence located in Goldsboro, North Carolina, associated with an ongoing human trafficking investigation.  Subsequent to the execution of the search warrant, the following individuals have been charged as a result of this investigation:

• Karen Lynn Anderson, 47, was arrested on Monday, March 9, 2020, and charged with one count of human trafficking of an adult victim.  Anderson was issued a $100,000 secured bond and booked at the Wayne County Detention Center. 

• William Henry Thornton, 76, was arrested on Monday, March 9, 2020, and charged with one count of attempted first-degree forcible rape.  Thornton was issued a $200,000 secured bond and booked at the Wayne County Detention Center. 

• Jeffrey Leon Harding, 48, was arrested on Monday, March 9, 2020, and charged with one count of possession of firearm by felon, one count of possession of a stolen firearm, one count of PWIMSD Schedule I Controlled Substance, one count of possession of marijuana up to ½ ounce, one count of possession of heroin and one count of felony possession of Schedule I Controlled Substance.  Harding was issued a $20,000 secured bond and booked at the Wayne County Detention Center. 

Because this is an ongoing investigation, no additional information is available at this time.  Mug shots can be obtained by contacting the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office.

Citizens can report suspected incidents of human trafficking to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, your local police department/sheriff’s office or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.