Justice Dept. convicts Florida man of sex trafficking nearly a dozen women and girls

After a nine-day federal trial, a Southern District of Florida jury on Monday convicted Shannima Yuantrell Session, also known as Shalamar, 47, of Lake Placid, Florida, on 13 counts of sex trafficking of almost a dozen women and girls, as announced by the Justice Department.

Session forced some of his victims to commit sexual acts for commercial purposes between July 2011 and July 2013 and forced other victims to commit sexual acts for commercial purposes between February 2016 and February 2019, the official statement said.

“The defendant used despicable and horrendous means to terrorize and coerce nearly a dozen women and girls into engaging in commercial sexual activity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

The federal prosecutor added that, “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting vulnerable victims of such cruel exploitation. This prosecution reflects that commitment. It is a testament to the brave young women who cooperated with law enforcement to expose, prosecute and hold accountable this defendant for the years of misery he inflicted on dozens of women.”

Special agents for the nation’s Federal Bureau of Investigation concurred on the matter, saying the conviction was a victory for justice.

“Today's verdict is a step toward justice for the nearly twelve victims who were forced by Shannima Yuantrell Session into sex trafficking and endured his reign of horrendous and abusive control," said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office.

Evidence presented during the trial established that Sessions made promises of legitimate work and housing assistance to women and girls who were struggling with unstable homes, substance abuse and neglect or leading unstable lives.

The defendant presented himself as an understanding and caring person, and then took advantage of the victims' vulnerabilities to force them to perform commercial sex acts in precarious trailers housing migrant workers or in local orange groves.

Session sometimes used food and lodging to control and coerce victims. For example, he would not allow one of his victims to eat if he did not follow his instructions. He also often required his victims to have sex with him after spending a night forced to have sex with up to 18 men.

Additionally, evidence presented during the trial demonstrated that Sessions used extreme physical violence to coerce and intimidate certain victims. He violently hit some of them on the back of the head so as not to leave marks on their bodies.

He also strangled another woman to the point of unconsciousness, beat another victim with a baseball bat, and brutalized another so brutally that her nose ring fell off due to the force of the assault.

Sessions also took several victims to a nearby lake, where he held their heads underwater and threatened to drown them if they did not do as he ordered.

The evidence also showed that the man used a firearm to intimidate and control his victims.

Finally, evidence indicated that Session manipulated and took advantage of some victims' substance abuse problems to force them to provide commercial sexual services. He provided them with cocaine and methamphetamine to give them enough energy to engage in commercial sex acts with various men, mainly migrants.

Sessions’ sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19. Session faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, in addition to mandatory restitution.

According to the Justice Dept. statement, the FBI Miami Field Office and Ft. Pierce Resident Agency, investigated the case with assistance from the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office in Florida

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Hoover for the SDFL and Trial Attorneys Leah Branch and Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit (HTPU) prosecuted the case.

The statement also releases information for potential witnesses to report suspicion of trafficking events to law enforcement, saying the following:

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.