By A federal jury in the Southern District of Florida has convicted Shannima Yuantrell Session, 47, of Lake Placid, Florida, on 13 charges related to sex trafficking nearly a dozen women and girls, following a nine-day trial that concluded Monday.
Session, also known as Shalamar, was found guilty of compelling victims to engage in commercial sex acts during two periods: from July 2011 to July 2013 and from February 2016 to February 2019.
The trial revealed Session’s brutal tactics in exploiting vulnerable victims. Evidence presented showed that he lured women and girls struggling with unstable living conditions, substance abuse, and neglect by promising legitimate work and housing assistance. These promises were often false, designed to manipulate victims and exploit their vulnerabilities.
Prosecutors detailed Session’s methods of control, which included:
1. Using food and housing as leverage to coerce victims
2. Employing extreme physical violence, including punching, choking, and beating victims with objects like baseball bats
3. Intimidating victims with firearms
4. Manipulating victims’ substance abuse problems by providing drugs to keep them compliant
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, “The defendant used despicable and horrific means to terrify and coerce nearly a dozen women and girls to engage in commercial sex.”
The evidence presented showed Session often forced victims to engage in sexual activity with him after nights of compelled intercourse with up to 18 men. Victims were frequently made to perform sex acts in squalid trailers housing migrant workers or in local orange groves.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida emphasized the priority of combating human trafficking, stating, “We will not allow human traffickers to prey upon others for profit, as humans are not commodities but rather demand our united protection.”
The FBI Miami Field Office, with assistance from the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office, led the investigation. Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office called the verdict “a step towards justice for the nearly dozen victims who were forced by Shannima Yuantrell Session into sex trafficking and endured his reign of horrendous and abusive control.”
Session faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, as well as mandatory restitution. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for December 19, where a federal district court judge will determine the final sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement and the Justice Department to combat human trafficking. Authorities urge anyone with information about human trafficking to report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24/7.
Source: DOJ
