LISBON — A woman convicted in a sex-for-hire case filed an appeal Friday to challenge the jury verdict and 12-month prison sentence issued against her.

Shanika Simmons, 41, Youngstown, had the notice of appeal filed with the Seventh District Court of Appeals just days after she was sentenced in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to the prison term, receiving credit for 58 days served. A jury found her guilty on July 29, 2024 of fourth-degree felony promoting prostitution.

She previously filed a motion for a new trial in the case last fall which was denied earlier this year, resulting in her recent sentencing. The summary of items requested for review by the appellate court included pretrial motions and the weight and sufficiency of the evidence.

Simmons had been accused of agreeing to provide sexual services and bring along a second female to provide sexual services in exchange for $450, arriving in East Palestine on Aug. 2, 2022 for the meeting with an undercover agent who posed as a buyer of sex online.

Besides the prison time, she was also deemed a Tier I sex offender requiring her to register her address with the sheriff’s office in county where she resides for the sex offender registration.