Threatened adult female with a gun and assaulted her to force her into sex work
Seattle – A 38-year-old Seattle man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 20 years in prison for five federal felonies connected to his sex trafficking of a minor and an adult woman, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. In April 2026, a judge and jury convicted Shante Broady of sex trafficking an adult victim through force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion; sex trafficking a minor; transporting both the adult victim and the minor victim for prostitution; and unlawful possession of a firearm. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour said the twenty-year sentence was justified by “the violence of events in the case” and was in line with other sex trafficking sentences imposed in the Western District of Washington.
“Shante Broady is one of six defendants involved in sex trafficking this office has prosecuted in the last six months. Like many sex traffickers in this district, Mr. Broady took a minor to north Aurora Avenue to sell her to sex buyers. This area – which traffickers refer to as “the track” or “the blade” – is a dangerous hub for commercial sexual exploitation of children and adults and associated violent and dangerous criminal activity,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “This office is working tirelessly with our state and federal partners to assist potential victims, identify traffickers, and reduce crime in that known sex trafficking area. This twenty-year sentence, alongside other federal and state prosecutions, are helping to remove some of the most violent traffickers off the streets for a lengthy period.”
“Mr. Broady scoured the internet and various social media platforms searching for vulnerable children and women to entice into his commercial sex trade,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “He succeeded in coercing a minor victim and an adult victim through false promises of a relationship, protection, and money, to travel across state and country lines to commit commercial sex acts at his instruction. Instead of a lavish lifestyle, the victims were met with anger, threats, and violence. The FBI and our partners are committed to combatting this sexual exploitation and violence to hold these perpetrators responsible.”
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, Broady had been on law enforcement’s radar since March 2023, when they received a report that Broady had been sex trafficking a victim in Portland, Oregon. In November 2024, a former girlfriend reported being assaulted by Broady.
In April 2025, two adult women in Seattle contacted the FBI regarding Broady’s sex trafficking and threats of violence. One woman said Broady was ultimately unsuccessful in his attempt to force her into prostitution. The other reported that in March 2025, Broady had lured her to travel from Canada, paying for her plane ticket. He then pressured her and forced her into prostitution with false promises, threats, and physical violence, and brandished a firearm at her. Text messages obtained from Broady’s phone document the threats. The victims obtained a civil restraining order to try to keep him away from them. The woman from Canada was ultimately able to return home.
Records in the case and court testimony also detail Broady’s involvement in transporting and harboring a minor victim who had run away from a boarding school in another state. The minor victim was encountered on North Aurora Avenue and taken into custody by law enforcement. She was ultimately safely returned to family members. Information obtained from Broady’s phone demonstrated that he was aware of her age and that he was directing her how to interact with potential sex buyers. Broady was convicted of sex trafficking this minor.
In a second short bench trial after the first, prosecutors presented evidence that Broady possessed a firearm, even though he was prohibited due to convictions in Stafford County, Virginia for Burglary of a Dwelling while Armed with Deadly Weapon, Robbery, Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony, and Attempted Robbery. When police searched Broady’s residence on April 11, 2025, they recovered a black Ruger LCP, .380 caliber firearm with a loaded magazine. Judge Coughenour found he committed that crime.
In addition to the 20-year prison term Judge Coughenour ordered that he be on 15 years of supervised release following his prison term.
In asking for the 20-year prison term and 15 years of supervised release, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kate Crisham told the court Broady “is a violent man and a sexual predator who targets vulnerable young girls.” Broady will be required to register as a sex offender following his prison term.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Seattle Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kate Crisham and Michael Harder. Ms. Crisham leads the Anti-Trafficking prosecutions in the Western District of Washington.
Contact
Press contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office is Communications Director Emily Langlie at (206) 553-4110or Emily.Langlie@usdoj.gov.
