Jimmie Gardner, related to Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate, through marriage, was recently detained in Tampa, Florida, on allegations of human trafficking. As reported by WFLA, a local news organization, Tampa police apprehended the 57-year-old Gardner following an incident involving a minor at the Renaissance Hotel at International Plaza.
The incident reportedly occurred around 2 a.m., where Gardner is accused of trying to engage a 16-year-old girl in commercial sexual activities. Police documents indicate that Gardner met the teenager and invited her to his hotel room, offering her money in exchange for sexual acts.
According to a police statement, the young girl initially consented but then decided against it, which allegedly led to Gardner getting upset. The situation reportedly escalated from a verbal to a physical confrontation, with Gardner accused of choking the girl, thereby obstructing her breathing. Following the altercation, Gardner left the scene, and the girl contacted emergency services.
Gardner subsequently surrendered himself at a local police station. Notably, he had been previously convicted in 1987 for sexual assault in West Virginia, serving 27 years before being exonerated in 2016. In 2018, he married Leslie Abrams Gardner, a federal judge appointed in 2014 to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia. Stacey Abrams, his sister-in-law, has yet to publicly comment on the matter.
State attorney Suzy Lopez, addressing the issue, emphasized the principle of the presumption of innocence while assuring that the case would be prosecuted with the gravity it demands, given the severity of the allegations.