Executive Summary
- A federal lawsuit alleges seven Maryland hotels and one Pennsylvania hotel enabled sex trafficking from 2013 to 2016.
- The complaint claims hotel staff ignored visible injuries and suspicious behavior, with one employee allegedly participating in the abuse.
- The legal action is based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), which allows victims to sue beneficiaries of trafficking ventures.
- Recent similar cases have resulted in multimillion-dollar settlements, signaling increased liability for the hospitality sector.
BALTIMORE — A federal civil lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Baltimore accuses operators of seven hotels in Maryland and one in Pennsylvania of enabling a sex trafficking operation between 2013 and 2016. The complaint, filed by the law firm Andreozzi and Foote, alleges that hotel staff and management ignored obvious signs of abuse and, in some instances, facilitated the trafficking of an unnamed woman to profit from the criminal enterprise.
According to court filings, the plaintiff, now in her early 40s, was forced to book rooms using cash at various motels along major thoroughfares in Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, and Edgewood. The lawsuit states that despite the victim displaying visible bruises, signs of poor hygiene, and malnutrition, hotel employees failed to intervene or contact law enforcement. The complaint details a pattern where the victim was forced to decline housekeeping services while making frequent requests for fresh linens, behavior that attorneys argue should have flagged the situation as suspicious to hotel operators.
The 66-page lawsuit specifically alleges that an employee at a Travelodge in Aberdeen was aware the woman was being trafficked and used that knowledge to coerce her into sexual acts. The plaintiff’s attorney, Alex Marcinko, told The Baltimore Sun that the hotels overlooked "obvious signs of sex trafficking" and that the victim remains terrified of her traffickers, who were never criminally charged. Among the defendants named are the Budget Inn, Super 8, and Days Inn in Aberdeen; a Motel 6 in Edgewood; and a Motel 6 in York, Pennsylvania.
Dipak Patel, identified as the owner of the Budget Inn in Havre de Grace, denied knowledge of the lawsuit or any illicit activity in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. Patel stated that he has never observed suspicious activity at the property and noted that surveillance cameras monitor the premises. Managers at other named locations either claimed ignorance of the suit or could not be reached for comment.
It is important to note that this legal action is a civil complaint, and all defendants are presumed innocent of any liability or criminal wrongdoing until proven otherwise in a court of law.
Litigation Trends and Liability
This lawsuit represents a growing legal strategy utilizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) to hold hospitality entities financially accountable for human trafficking occurring on their properties. Unlike criminal cases which require proof beyond a reasonable doubt, civil actions rely on a "preponderance of the evidence" to establish that a business knew or should have known about the trafficking venture and benefited from it. Legal experts note that recent multimillion-dollar verdicts and settlements against hotels in Georgia and Pennsylvania are establishing a significant precedent, compelling the hospitality industry to implement stricter anti-trafficking training and protocols to mitigate liability exposure.
