EPISODE 2
No real consequences for human trafficking
Paxton’s Office Cut a Plea Deal with an Alleged Sex Trafficker, Rakim Sharkey, that Included No Jail Time and No Sex Offender Registry—Within a Couple of Years the Man was in Jail Again, for Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Burglary
Paxton’s Office Cut A Plea Deal With An Alleged Sex Trafficker, Rakim Sharkey, That Included No Jail Time And No Sex Offender Registry. “Two years ago, Rakim Sharkey was facing the rest of his life in prison for sex trafficking two minors and an adult woman. But former prosecutors in the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office offered him a plea deal that kept him out of prison and off the sex offender registry. […] Sharkey was initially arrested with another man in 2017 for selling the sexual favors of three women through force, fraud or coercion. This included two minors. He was charged with ‘continuous’ trafficking of persons for the alleged repeated occurrences, which carries a prison term of 25 years to life in prison. The girls were runaways from a San Antonio drug treatment center. In court, they described beatings and being forced to have sex with older men over the course of days. Lawyers from Paxton’s sex trafficking unit had a wealth of evidence against the two men including: text messages arranging meetings with men, photographs, hotel surveillance, cooperating victims and at least one corroborating witness. A plea deal including significant jail time had been floated by prosecutors early on, but was rejected by the defense team. […] By the time the case went back to court, it had another prosecutor — the case’s eighth. James Winters was less interested in going forward with the case. He decided to give the men plea deals that included no jail time and no addition to the sex offender registry.” [Texas Public Radio, 7/22/25]
Within Two Years, Sharkey Was Jailed Again — Charged With Assault With A Deadly Weapon, Unlawful Restraint, And Burglary. “That deal may now be coming apart though, as Sharkey was rearrested in Nueces County in April. He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, unlawful restraint and burglary. According to police records, Sharkey and a second man used weapons to try and rob and detain people in a house in Corpus Christi. Three and a half bags of marijuana were seized along with pills, cash and guns. […] Sharkey now sits in a Nueces County jail. Heavily redacted arrest records allege that Sharkey and a man named Dantril Tapp-Hawkins entered a home with a shotgun intending to rob the residents. Witnesses and much of the police officers statements are redacted, so it is unclear what transpired, but it was Hawkins and Sharkey who appear to have been bloodied in the ensuing melee.” [Texas Public Radio, 7/22/25]
Texas Judge Sparkman: “I’m seeing a pattern… If they get a mistrial, all of a sudden it’s just a little misdemeanor with a slap on the hand”
Texas Judge Sparkman: “I'm Seeing A Pattern… If They Get A Mistrial, All Of A Sudden It's Just A Little Misdemeanor With A Slap On The Hand.” “For instance, attack ads from Cornyn’s allies highlight the case of a man originally charged with child sex trafficking who received a deal for a probation sentence. And Sparkman brought up another case in open court last month, noting that Paxton had also taken over a murder-for-hire case that he oversaw, which resulted in a misdemeanor plea and a four-day jail sentence. ‘I’m seeing a pattern here that is concerning me,’ Sparkman said, referring to the way Paxton’s office prosecutes cases. ‘If they get a mistrial, all of a sudden it’s just a little misdemeanor with a slap on the hand.’ Court records show that all three cases drawing scrutiny began as high-level felony charges and ended in mistrials. All were eventually resolved with plea deals resulting in little to no jail time. And in each case, the judge presiding over the deal insisted on a harsher punishment than what Paxton’s office originally proposed.” [Texas Tribune, 5/19/26]