Lawsuits charging WA hotels for facilitating sex trafficking
Aug 20, 2024, 11:29 AM
Motel 6 sign close up showing logo. (Photo: Don and Melinda Crawford, Getty Images)
(Photo: Don and Melinda Crawford, Getty Images)
Multiple hotels in Washington are involved in lawsuits where they allegedly knew of, profited and failed to prevent sex trafficking within their premises, according to the law firm.
The plaintiffs filing the lawsuits, known as Jane Does in the court documents, alleged the hotels had knowledge of sex trafficking on the property and monetarily benefitted from it. The plaintiffs claimed the hotels pursued no action to prevent the illegal conduct.
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The hotels in question are Wyndham Hotel & Resorts, Old West 6017 LLC, G6 Hospitality and its subsidiaries, including Motel 6, SeaTac Hotels, Evergreen Lodging Group, Choice Hotels International and Madison Avenue P&L Enterprises.
One of the plaintiffs alleged the hotels not only had knowledge of what was going on, but played a role in facilitating her being sex trafficked. According to the lawsuit, hotel employees were friendly and on a first-name basis with traffickers due to the frequency of their stays.
The plaintiff claimed she was sex trafficked between various hotels from the above list between 2007 and 2014.
“For decades, hotels have failed to take action to prevent sex trafficking on their premises, and the issue is pervasive among the industry,” Meagan Verschueren, Counsel at Singleton Schreiber and attorney for the plaintiffs, said. “We’re seeking justice for the terrible atrocities committed against our clients, and we want to send a message to the industry that they must do much more to prevent these crimes.”
Other plaintiffs claimed they were trafficked and assaulted from 2012 to 2023. The Motel 6 locations in question have previously been charged with similar conduct.
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The lawsuits all claimed the hotels ignored numerous “red flags,” including the traffickers requesting rooms away from guests, signs of illegal drug use, an “unusual” large volume of used condoms in the room’s trash, lots of male foot traffic to and from the rooms in question including at night, signs of physical abuse, loud noises and acts of violence heard audibly by other guests and staff.
This is a developing story, check back for updates
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories聽here聽and you can email him聽here.
