Seattle man sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking on Aurora

The 'Aurora Track'

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.”

Records in the case and court testimony 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.