Red Roof Inn faces civil lawsuit over sex trafficking allegations at two Atlanta locations – WABE

A civil lawsuit, the first of its kind, could hold a national hotel chain accountable for the company's role in allowing human trafficking on its properties.

Jury selection has begun in the case brought by eleven plaintiffs against two metro Atlanta Red Roof Inns and the companies that operated them.

Emma Hetherington is Director of the Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic at the University of Georgia School of Law.

She said the signs of trafficking were far too obvious not to be apparent to Red Roof Inn and the other companies named in the suit.

“If you look at Google reviews or Trip Advisor reviews, you'll see a lot of reports of people saying, 'This is definitely happening here, there's traffic here, look what I'm seeing on these properties,'” Hetherington said in an interview on “All Things Considered.”

She said federal law allows punitive damages when individuals or businesses that profit from human trafficking knew — or could have known — that it was happening.

Hetherington said employees testified that, at times, the majority of the hotel's business came from trafficking transactions.

She said the number of lawsuits filed against individual hotel owners has increased and, if this lawsuit is successful, it could lead to greater accountability for national hotel brands.

Christopher Alston contributed to this report.