Two sentenced for sex trafficking child in western NC

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (FOX Carolina) - A woman who trafficked a child in Henderson County and the man who raped her have been sentenced to prison.

The District Attorney said the victim was 14 years old at the time of the abuse. Lee Ann Zimmerman, 55, took the girl to buy illegal narcotics in different places in Henderson County.

Hendersonville man Jimmy Jamison, 55, reportedly saw the child and began texting Zimmerman about having sex with the victim. Zimmerman told Jamison the girl’s age, and he continued sending texts offering marijuana and money if the teenager would have sex with him.

From the fall of 2019 until March 2020, Zimmerman drove the victim from Rutherford County to Henderson County to get drugs and Jamison was allowed unsupervised access to the girl. Investigators discovered that he committed multiple sex crimes against the victim at his home in the Dana community and a motel in Hendersonville.

Investigators said the victim told a family member what happened and authorities were alerted.

On May 18, Jamison was convicted of 3 counts of human trafficking of a child, 3 counts of statutory rape, and 2 counts of statutory sex offense. He was sentenced to a minimum of 241 years and a maximum of 330 years in prison.

Zimmerman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking and testified against Jamison. She was sentenced to a minimum of 9 years and a maximum of 16 years.

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