A federal jury awarded $164 million to a woman who says she was trafficked for sex at a Super 8 hotel on Old National Highway in College Park when she was 15 in 2020. The award against the hotel’s owner, Lincoln Bancorp, LLC, includes $44 million in compensatory damages and $120 million in punitive damages.
Trial testimony described repeated stays at the hotel and signs of possible trafficking, according to CBS News Atlanta. The plaintiff, identified in court records only as J.R., said traffickers brought her there multiple times in 2020 and again in 2021. She testified that she stayed for weeks at a time, once sharing a room with as many as eight other victims while traffickers sold her for sex to multiple buyers a day. The case is styled J.R. v. Lincoln Bancorp, LLC.
A Teen’s Plea for Help Went Nowhere
J.R. testified that she once asked a hotel employee for help escaping, but staff refused, CBS News Atlanta reported.
CBS News Atlanta also reported that a former motel housekeeper testified some employees were paid to act as lookouts, warning traffickers when police were present. The housekeeper also testified that employees rented rooms by the half-hour or hour specifically for sex. Attorneys argued that these patterns should have alerted management to possible abuse on the property.
Attorneys Say Hotels Had Every Chance to Act
Attorney Patrick McDonough said the evidence showed recurring, visible signs of trafficking over an extended period, according to CBS News Atlanta. He argued that hotels can train staff to recognize potential signs and respond, and that the evidence showed the hotel failed to act despite the presence of a child being trafficked on its property…