Shanteari Young, formerly Weems, has been a subject BOSSIP has followed since 2022, when news of her story first broke. Young was the owner of a daycare in Owings Mills, Maryland, when she was told that her husband, retired Baltimore police officer James Weems, who was also the school’s bus driver, had been sexually abusing the children and showing them graphic images. In her anger and disgust, Young confronted her husband about the allegations and shot him in the leg in the process. When all was said and done, James Weems was sentenced to life in prison, and Shanteari pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and carrying a pistol without a license. She was sentenced to four years in prison, and the community outrage was palpable.
That said, we couldn’t be happier to now share the news that Shanteari Young, a hero and a protector of children, has been released from prison early for good behavior, according to WJZ via CBS News. She is currently living in a halfway house in Washington, D.C., where she will be on home confinement until her sentence ends this December. If you thought these couple of years behind bars were going to make her apologetic for her righteous indignation, you got another thing coming.
“The one thing I think that we need to know is that sexual abuse is not OK with children,” Young said. “A lot of times in the past, it has been covered up, and it’s good that it’s getting some type of notoriety to it so that we can stop it.”
Young continued, “We can help children and not accept this, especially from somebody who we all thought should have been protecting children and protecting the community at one point.”
Clock it.
Shanteari says she received many, many letters of support and positivity while serving her time.
“One of the things I really want to say is I thank everybody for the support that they have given me,” Young said. “It has really helped me get through my prison sentence, and I’m just really thankful for that. I’m glad to be out and at the halfway house, and I’m just looking forward to rebuilding and giving back to the community like I was before.”
Young divorced James Weems while she was incarcerated and legally changed back to her maiden name, but the scars that he left her won’t be as easy to remove. Ultimately, she says she’s satisfied with the justice that she and the victims received.
“I’m definitely glad that the justice system saw what happened, and he was sentenced to what he got. And that everybody can start trying to rebuild and move on,” Young said.
We truly hope that this woman can put her life back together with the love and continued support of the community.
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