Local

Jacksonville woman indicted for forcibly sex trafficking 2 women

Shaquana Quenella Brookins

A Jacksonville woman is accused of using force and threats to traffick two women for sex over the course of two years.

A federal indictment also accuses Shaquana Brookins, 31, of running a drug house in a room at an EconoLodge in Atlantic Beach.

“The first thing that goes through my mind when I hear about this case is concern for victims and making sure that the victims are getting access to the services and support that they’re going to need,” said sex trafficking victim advocate Lawanda Ravoira.

A grand jury also indicted Brookins for manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine and having three guns as a convicted felon.

“I also step back and wonder what the woman who is being charged with trafficking – what, what was her history? And what had happened in her life that brought her to this point?” said Ravoira.

Trending on ActionNewsJax.com:

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has arrested Brookins 21 times on 49 charges since 2003, including two arrests for beating up a pregnant woman.

Action News Jax also reported in December 2015 that Brookins got busted in a flakka sting.

While Brookins remains in jail, Ravoira and her team at the Delores Barr Weaver Policy Center are working to launch the Open Doors survivor-led statewide network, which would immediately connect human trafficking survivors to the resources they need.

“Trauma isn’t something that goes away. It’s something that we can manage, and we can provide safe spaces for people to address their trauma. But we have to be available long term, because the impact is going to be lifelong,” said Ravoira.

The project got approved by the legislature for $3 million, and Ravoira hopes to have it up and running by the end of the year.

Florida ranks third in the country for calls into the human trafficking hotline. There have been 453 calls from Florida to that hotline so far this year.