DeKalb hotel ordered to pay $40 million in sex trafficking verdict

A DeKalb County hotel has been ordered to pay $40 million to a woman who was sex trafficked there in a landmark court case. Atlanta law firm Finch McCranie secured the largest sex trafficking verdict in U.S. history on behalf of “J.G”, a young Georgia woman who survived being sex trafficked at the United Inn & Suites at 4649 Memorial Drive. The lawsuit was brought under the relatively new Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) against United Inn for failing to act, despite repeated signs of trafficking on its property. On July 15, the jury awarded $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages to the victim, according to a press release. “This verdict should send a clear message that hotels or any businesses that turn a blind eye to sex trafficking will be held accountable,” said lead trial counsel David Bouchard of Finch McCranie. “Our legal team proved that J.G.’s traffickers chose to sell drugs and girls out of multiple rooms at United Inn for months at a time because of the hotel’s complicit management, untrained staff, and broken security policies.” Former detectives from the DeKalb County Police Department testified that United Inn was one of the top five sex trafficking locations in DeKalb. Additional testimony revealed that the hotel’s night manager actively assisted traffickers by purchasing drugs from them, helping them switch rooms to avoid attention, and warning them when law enforcement might be nearby. “This historic verdict puts all complicit businesses on notice that looking the other way or staying silent when employees are aware of sex trafficking can and will cause serious consequences. Their silence has always been morally wrong, but now it is illegal, with severe penalties as a result. This case provides a powerful precedent for survivors to pursue similar litigation in the future,” added Bouchard. The post DeKalb hotel ordered to pay $40 million in sex trafficking verdict appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta.