Historic sex trafficking trial against Red Roof Inns begins

This current case now involves 11 more plaintiffs, which, if it does see a trial on Tuesday, a key question hangs in the balance: Should hotel chains be held liable for human trafficking? 

If no settlement occurs prior, attorneys said this would be the first trial against a national hotel brand -- instead of just the owner of a hotel. The Director of the University of Georgia's School of Law Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Clinic, Emma Hetherington, said the case is major as the outcome could set a precedent for the rest of the country. 

"This really is a huge deal," Hetherington stated. "This is especially significant because under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, it provides for civil liability for companies or individuals who are financially benefitting from trafficking ventures knowingly or they show know that that's what's happening." 

Hetherington stated the vast majority of the cases will either be settled or questions will be more focused on other aspects like the traffickers instead of the national corporate owner. 

The Red Roof Inn denies all allegations listed in this civil lawsuit and said it condemns sex trafficking in all forms. It also said it is actively working in the fight to eradicate trafficking and exploitation. The company sent the below statement to 11Alive in response to this case. 

"Red Roof denies and will vigorously defend these allegations and condemns sex trafficking in all forms. Red Roof mandates the globally recognized PACT training module to help educate hotel staff to identify and report human trafficking to the authorities. Red Roof is actively working with the hospitality industry through its alliances with AAHOA, AHLA, No Room for Trafficking Advisory Council, PACT and SOAP in the fight to eradicate trafficking and the exploitation of victims," the statement said. 

The main part of the case alleges the company's knowledge about human trafficking at the properties and that police reports described prostitution-related arrests as well as that police directly interacted with hotel employees. 

One of the accusations listed in the 2023 court filing is that anyone who arrived at these two locations witnessed an "open-air prostitution market." The filing includes the testimony of one of the unidentified women who alleged that at both hotels, a majority of the guests were "pimps" and their workers. 

"You could see girls hanging off the balcony in their short clothes, . . . girls walking around beating their feet with no clothes on, talking on cell phones, meeting johns, taking them up their rooms," she alleged. 

Employees at the hotels have also testified. According to the material facts filing, workers at both locations admitted to seeing minors being sold for sex. It also alleges that multiple rooms would be rented with multiple girls in each -- with men coming and going throughout the day. 

"You literally don't even get a break," one of the plaintiffs testified. "It's like literally back to back to back to back." 

Another woman testified that in order to eat, she had to meet her quota of $1,000. At the Smyrna property, the lawsuit said that employees described prostitution so "pervasive that there was no need to report it to higher-ups because it was already known." 

At the location near Buckhead, one of the people working as a security guard from 2013 until 2016 said she believed there were "pimps" and "prostitutes" virtually every weekend she worked there. She alleged that there was no way that people could not know and called the scene there "Hotel Hell."

Much of the testimony goes into how there would be constant requests for towels to clean up and requests for extra linens. One of the survivors also recounted giving a housekeeper bloody sheets and towels.  

Another employee at the Smyrna property testified that he saw young women beaten severely and alleged that the traffickers would turn them onto drugs. 

Part of the evidence used in the accusations is that hotel customers wrote reviews about the hotels that brought up the activity. It is alleged that the president and the company would receive reports from online reviews at least weekly and sometimes daily. 

"Turned out to be nothing but a hotel for hookers to score. A sign in the lobby said 'no refunds after 15 minutes," an April 2016 review from the Symrna hotel said. 

"There was police patrolling all day and night doing nothing because there was so many hookers on my floor it was sickening," said another February 2016 review for the other location mentioned in the suit.

The lawsuit also alleges that corporate employees had direct knowledge of the prostitution and trafficking at these various locations. And even goes as far as to accuse the corporation of saying that even after a human trafficking activist told Red Roof's C-Suite executives about the conditions at Smyrna, they only got worse. 

The corporation is denying all of the aforementioned allegations and brought up the training and collaboration it is doing with other organizations. 

In general, human trafficking and the hospitality industry have a history of being intertwined. 

Hetherington with the CEASE clinic represents survivors of trafficking in foster care proceedings, post-conviction relief cases and civil cases. From her experience, her clients have reported a variety of hotels. 

"This is not an outlier," she said in reference to the allegations the Red Roof Inn is facing. "It's everywhere from yes, these more less expensive motel type of places, all the way up." 

She mentioned that she's had clients who've mentioned hotels costing $500 to $600 a night that they've been trafficked out of. 

"This really can happen anywhere," she stated. 

Part of the lawsuit also addresses that this has been an issue known for years in the industry. It mentions that by 2010, the Department of Homeland Security launched a national public awareness campaign dedicated to educating industry partners and others on recognizing the indicators of human trafficking and how to respond. 

By 2011, training was offered by the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA) for members who are involved in security to have training on child trafficking and the protection of children. In 2012, it launched a training video about human trafficking awareness to help people identify suspicious activity and instructions on how to proceed.

In terms of survivors, Hetherington stated that she hears reports all the time of young adults, predominantly in foster care, getting arrested from hotels who are clearly being trafficked. In general, she mentioned that civil cases have been a way for survivors to get healing and justice and have their stories heard. 

"Most survivors aren't suing for money," she stated. "They're suing to have their story heard, for people to believe them and validate their pain and their suffering. To bring that recognition to show that the fault is on other people and not them." 

The bottom line is that the survivors' stories in the lawsuit have a common theme: the alleged traffickers lured them in, started to exploit them and quickly turned violent. 

One of the women described how a man captivated her by first initiating a sexual relationship with her and then pretending to want something more romantic. She brought up how he would exploit her religious upbringing by telling her he was her "savior." 

She was estranged from her family and homeless. She recalled him manipulating her into having commercial sex and would use violence to get her to do what he wanted. 

Many of the women also described how they were rarely alone.

Another survivor testified in the lawsuit about how traffickers allegedly kept all the money, leaving her dependent on food. She would ultimately get down to under 90 pounds, the filing wrote. 

But what are some signs to watch out for in these cases -- specifically in the hospitality industry? 

According to a U.S. government guide, there is no single indicator that necessarily proves trafficking. However, some helpful questions are: 

Does the guest 

• Appear deprived of food, water, sleep, basic hygiene, medical car or other necessities? 
• Have bruises or other signs of physical trauma? 
• Defer to another person to speak for them? 
• Dress inappropriately for their age or in out-of-season clothing? 
• Request additional towels, new linens multiple times but deny staff entry into the room?
• Have an excessive number of people staying in their room? 
• Allow a constant flow of people into the room at all hours?
• Possess evidence of pornography or sex paraphernalia? 
• Appear to be a minor with the patron late at night or during school hours (not on vacation)? 
• Stay for an extended period of time with few or no personal possessions?  

For the full list and more information, click here. 

If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at (888) 373-7888. To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the Statewide 24-Hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842. If you have reason to believe that a person is in imminent danger, call 911 or your local law enforcement agency to file a report.  For more information on how to get help for people impacted by human trafficking, visit www.endhtga.org.