Broward teen shot man she said was trying to rape her. Now, she has a second chance

Two years ago, Esther Sanon — then an 18-year-old Broward high school senior — met up with Jason Sapp, a man more than twice her age that she had connected with online months before.

That decision ended in a shooting — and with Sanon facing decades behind bars in a Florida prison.

But on Thursday morning, prosecutors, citing new information, dropped charges against Sanon, who throughout the case maintained she acted in self-defense.

Sanon’s alleged victim, Sapp, a then-42-year-old, had been arrested on a slew of charges, including human trafficking and lewd and lascivious acts with a victim between 12 and 16. Since November, Sapp has been at the Broward Main Jail.

In July, investigators discovered that Sapp had sent a 14-year-old girl sexually explicit messages and met with her in person on several occasions, according to a warrant obtained by the Herald in a public records request. In one of the messages, Sapp offered the young girl money to engage in sex acts with one of his friends. Sapp and the girl would communicate through several apps.

While undergoing a sexual assault exam, the teen girl told a nurse that she had sexual contact with Sapp around five times. She gave investigators a statement, which is heavily redacted in the warrant.

Before prosecutors dropped the charges, Sanon had accepted a plea deal that would have placed her on probation for six years.

‘I’m in fear for my life’

About two years before, on April 10, 2023, Sapp met Sanon, then a high schooler, at the Pembroke Pines apartment complex where she lived. Sanon got into Sapp’s van, but what happened afterward was detailed in two drastically differing accounts.

“This guy tried to kidnap and rape me, and I’m in fear for my life…” Sanon told a 911 operator in tears. During the call, a hysterical Sanon said she ran from Sapp because he beat her up, leaving her mouth bleeding.

Sapp, too, called 911, telling the operator his name was Antonio and that a woman he met online wouldn’t get out of his car. In an interaction with police, he denied threatening to rape Sanon and said he didn’t tell her he was going to “f— you for some money or nothing like that.”

After the hearing, Sanon, dressed in a black suit, told the Miami Herald the charges changed her life. She had never been arrested before and felt humiliated when her mugshot was plastered all over the news after her arrest. Sanon said she lost her chance to attend prom and graduate with her classmates.

“I didn’t get the chance to live my life the way I wanted to,” Sanon said.

Now 21, Sanon said she took the plea deal because she wanted to move on with her life. She said she spent three months in jail and two years on house arrest as the case dragged on.

“I didn’t want to take a gamble, and then I’m gone for a long time,” Sanon said.

A pattern of behavior?

From the start, Sanon maintained that the shooting was in self-defense. Deputies, prosecutors and even loved ones didn’t believe her, but her attorney Adam Goodman did.

“Nobody was listening to me,” Sanon told the Herald.

In court motions, Goodman pointed out that Sapp’s history with “very young women in social or dating settings have escalated to physical force when money expectations sour.” In 2014, Sapp was arrested in Tamarac on a strong arm robbery charge after meeting up with an 18-year-old high schooler. Sapp, according to a deposition, grabbed the girl by the throat, knocked her to the ground and took her phone after she asked for money.

Sanon’s arrest report tells another story, however. Sapp told police he was initially frustrated that Sanon was on her cell phone, but that the squabble escalated when Sanon became upset that Sapp wouldn’t give her $300.

The two pushed each other to the ground, and, shortly after, Sanon pulled out a pistol, shooting at Sapp, according to the report. Sapp was struck in the shoulder.

For Sanon, police failed her and immediately took Sapp’s side.

“They didn’t care to look into the details…” Sanon told the Herald. “I feel like the investigator didn’t do his job very well. With all the information they had, they overlooked it.”

Sanon said she is still deciding what she wants to do in the future, but added that she wants to help others impacted by the criminal justice system.

“This happened, but now I’m able to help other woman and prevent them from being a similar situation,” Sanon said.