Motel Sued for Facilitation of Ongoing Criminal Activity

Bound Wrists This month, the Roosevelt Inn, a roadside motel located in northeast Philadelphia, was targeted in a sex trafficking case. The lawsuit alleges that the hotel’s owners and staff leased rooms to a 14-year-old girl’s traffickers, profiting off their abuse and making no attempts to stop it. The girl’s abusers were convicted and sent to prison, but her lawyers and family believe they can hold the motel owner responsible for partaking in the facilitation of this terrible crime, which took place over the course of two years.

Previously, no motel has ever been held liable for an employee’s participation in human trafficking. This is owed, in part, to the fact that many traumatized survivors do not identify as victims or, if they do, are unaware of their options for legal recourse.

The motel has been dubbed a “local epicenter of human trafficking” by prosecutors, and its sordid history is immersed in drug deals and violent crimes, in addition to forced prostitution. Employees played active roles in the enablement of such crimes, often escorting Johns to rooms that reeked of marijuana and turning a blind eye to the rampant violence carried out against underage girls.

Although the manager, Yagna Patel, claims that he was unaware of any criminal activity, including the underage sex trafficking, many reviews on Yelp and Trip Advisor reveal that criminal activity was undeniably present and obvious.

In a somewhat analogous case, Biren Law Group recovered compensation from a motel after the firm's client was severely burned from a raging fire explosion which occurred when known drug dealers were cooking hash oil.

For cases that involve serious personal injuries against public establishments that knowingly aid criminal activity, legal experience and creativity are necessary to successfully hold the establishment responsible. At the Biren Law Group, our Los Angeles personal injury attorneys possess that level of experience and creativity and will use it to seek the funds you need to cover medical expenses, lost wages, and non-economic damages.