Image: Office of Harris County Attorney
This photo from 2018 shows prostitutes working on the so-called Bissonnet Track in Southwest Houston.
A woman has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Wyndham Hotels & Resorts and other hotels after she was allegedly abused as a victim of sex trafficking at several Houston-area locations.
According to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, the anonymous victim, referred to as Jane Doe in court documents, is suing the hotels for allegedly knowing that “abuse was happening in their hotels” and doing “nothing to stop it.” The lawsuit also accuses the hotel franchises of being “instrumental” in Houston-area sex trafficking rings, alleging they “enjoyed a significant revenue stream” from criminal activity.
The other hotels named as defendants in the lawsuit include Days Inn and Suites by Wyndham, Palace Inn, Camelot Inn & Suites, Budget Inn and Hotel Royale.
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The woman was allegedly trafficked from February to December 2022 when she was 17 years old, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit claims the woman was “deceived, coerced, and forced with violent physical beatings and threats” into performing commercial sex acts.
The lawsuit argues that sex traffickers depend on hotels, particularly in Houston, which has been referred to as a national leader in sex trafficking, according to the Houston Area Women’s Center. Attorneys for the woman also argue that many of the hotels named in the lawsuit are along a section of the FM 1960 corridor and a one-mile stretch of Bissonnet Street known as the “Bissonnet Track.” Both areas are known as high-traffic areas for prostitution, according to the attorneys.
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In a statement, Steward Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys and Mixson & Elmore LLP — which are representing the woman — accused the hotels of failing to comply with an anti-trafficking ordinance passed by the city of Houston in 2020. The ordinance requires human trafficking training and certification for local hotels.
“This young woman and countless others were trapped in a nightmare and these hotels let it happen because they cared more about their profits than protecting these women or even following the law,” attorney Harry Daniels said in a statement. “They’re the ones propping up these sex traffickers and it’s time we held them accountable.”
The hotels named as defendants in the lawsuit either did not immediately respond to requests for comment or could not immediately be reached for comment.
The lawsuit seeks to recover profits the hotels earned as a result of alleged trafficking at their properties. A monetary amount is not specified in the lawsuit.