Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’ brother-in-law has been arrested for allegedly trying to pay a 16-year-old girl for sex at a Florida hotel before strangling the teenager, police said.
Jimmie Gardner, 57, whose wife is a federal judge, faces charges of human trafficking for an alleged violent and disruptive encounter in a room at the Renaissance Hotel at the International Plaza in Tampa around 1:40 a.m. Friday, police said.
The teenager accepted Gardner’s invitation to return to his hotel room and initially agreed to have sex with him in exchange for money, police said.
But the girl later changed her mind, angering Gardner, who ordered her to leave before the two got into an argument, according to police.
The fight escalated and Gardner allegedly grabbed the minor by the neck, causing him to stop breathing, police said. Afterward, Gardner left the hotel room and the girl called 911.
Jimmie Gardner, 57, was arrested in Tampa on Friday morning, police said. Hillborough County Sherriff’s Office
While police met with the victim at the hotel, Gardner turned himself in at the police precinct.
He is charged with one felony count of human trafficking for commercial sexual activity with a victim under the age of 18, one felony count of lewd or indecent touching of a 16 or 17-year-old child by a person 24 years of age or older and a misdemeanor. battery count.
Gardner was previously convicted in 1987 of sexually assaulting two women in West Virginia — but he was acquitted 27 years later in 2016, the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s office told WFLA.
The disturbing encounter happened in a room at the Renaissance Hotel at the International Plaza in Tampa around 1:40 a.m. Friday, police said. Google Maps
In 2018, he married federal judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, sister of two-time failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate and Democratic activist Stacey Abrams.
“Everyone has the right to the presumption of innocence. Our attorneys will prosecute this case just like any other offender charged with this crime. We take these allegations seriously,” Attorney General Suzy Lopez told WFLA.
Gardner was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1984, but now “works as a motivational speaker and emotional intelligence coach for students and formerly incarcerated people,” officials told the outlet.
On her Instagram page, Gardner describes herself as a “27-year survivor of wrongful convictions; social justice advocate; motivational speaker; mentor to at-risk youth;” and “freedom fighters.”
He is being held at the Orient Road Jail, according to police.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
