Federal judge’s husband, and brother-in-law to Stacey Abrams, charged with human trafficking

The husband of Georgia Federal Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, Jimmy Gardner, is facing human trafficking charges in Tampa, Florida. Gardner, 57, is also the brother-in-law of two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
 
Gardner was arrested in Tampa after a 16-year-old girl said she had been involved in sexual acts with him inside a hotel room. Tampa police say the teenage girl told them that Gardner contacted her just before 1:45 a.m. and invited her to his hotel room and she accepted. Once there, Gardner reportedly offered the girl money for sex. She initially agreed, but when she changed her mind, she said he became angry and began choking her. After he stopped choking her and left the hotel room, the girl called 911. By the time the police arrived, Gardner was gone. According to jail records, he was arrested just a few hours later and is charged with human trafficking, lewd or lascivious touching of a minor, and battery.

This is not Gardeners’ first encounter with the law. In 1990, he was wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting an elderly woman in West Virginia. He served more than 26 years in prison before his conviction was vacated. He was released from prison in 2016. After his release, he married Judge Abrams Gardner, who serves as a federal judge in the Middle District of Georgia, in 2018 and began working as a motivational speaker.

Before his conviction, Gardner spent four seasons in the minor leagues after the Chicago Cubs drafted him.