HOUSTON – Several Houston-area hotels are facing a federal lawsuit alleging they enabled and financially benefited from the sex trafficking and exploitation of minors.
The complaints name several hotel operators and properties, including Budget Inn, Palace Inn, Days Inn, Camelot Inn and Hotel Royale, as well as Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
The allegations have not been proven in court.
What the lawsuit alleges
According to the complaints, a teenage victim identified as Jane Doe was trafficked in Houston in 2022. Her attorneys allege she was deceived, coerced and forced into commercial sex acts through threats, violence and abuse.
Complaints alleges traffickers used hotel rooms to facilitate the exploitation and that hotel operators benefited from the revenue generated by those stays.
The lawsuits claims hotel employees had multiple opportunities to recognize signs of trafficking and intervene.
Attorney Harry Daniels, who represents trafficking victims, says the civil lawsuit is intended to provide accountability as well as financial compensation for victims.
“The lawsuit, as I said before, is to turn those from communities acts, allow these legal sex acts, these minors to be exploited, but also financial redress, restitution for these victims,” Daniels said.
Daniels said the lawsuit does not allege the hotels themselves directly carried out the trafficking. Instead, he said the case argues the businesses allowed the alleged activity to occur on their properties.
The complaint alleges trafficking occurred along Houston corridors associated with commercial sex activity, including the area around FM 1960 and the stretch of Bissonnet Street commonly known as the “Blade” or “Track.”
Houston hotels are required to provide trafficking training
The allegations come despite a City of Houston ordinance requiring hotels, motels and other lodging facilities to provide human-trafficking prevention training to employees.
The city says the training is designed to help hotel employees recognize and report potential human trafficking.
One lawsuit alleges the hotel defendants knew or should have known about the risks of trafficking and failed to take adequate steps to prevent or report it.
Mayor Whitmire: Public can help identify trafficking
Mayor John Whitmire’s office says combating human trafficking remains part of the city’s public-safety efforts.
“Public safety is Mayor Whitmire’s top priority, and this includes combating human trafficking,” according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
The statement says the Houston Police Department investigates trafficking cases through its Human Trafficking Unit and works with local nonprofit organizations and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
The mayor’s office also says everyone can play an important role in identifying potential trafficking.
“Some common indicators are signs of physical abuse, fear around authority figures and lack of control over personal identification or money,” the statement says.
To report potential human trafficking to the Houston Police Department, call 713-308-8600.
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-373-7888.
Warning signs parents and young people should know
Jacqueline Alluotto, president of No Trafficking Zone, says trafficking does not always involve a stranger abducting a child.
She says a trafficker can pose as a boyfriend, girlfriend or friend, and exploitation can involve peers as well as adults.
Warning signs she identified include:
Sudden unexplained changes in behavior, friends, school attendance or appearance
An older boyfriend or girlfriend, or an adult exercising unusual control over a young person
Frequent unexplained hotel stays, rideshares, travel or absences
Multiple phones or expensive electronic devices that cannot be explained
Gifts, new clothes, hair or nails that a child cannot explain
New social-media contacts involving unknown adults
Sexualized language or behavior that is inappropriate for the child’s age
Someone pressuring a young person to lie to parents
Threats to expose private photographs or information
Alluotto says parents should create an environment where children feel safe talking about uncomfortable situations.
“What we tell parents is, tell your children that they can tell you anything without there being consequences within reason,” Alluotto said.
For young people who feel pressured or uncomfortable, Aluto has a simple message.
“If you’re feeling these things, if someone’s pressuring you, if you feel uncomfortable, listen to your gut,” she said.
She says a young person who does not feel comfortable talking with a parent can reach out to a trusted adult, school counselor or trafficking advocacy organization.
Hotel responses
KPRC 2 reached out to the hotel companies and operators named in the lawsuits for comment.
Palace Inn Franchising provided the following statement:
“Palace Inn Franchising is in receipt of your inquiry and we are unable to comment at this time due to ongoing litigation, but we dispute any knowledge or complacency in any alleged human trafficking at any Palace Inn location.”
When we get statements from the other hotel companies or operators named in the lawsuit, we’ll post them here.
What happens next
The hotel defendants will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations in court.
The lawsuit is seeking damages and other relief for the plaintiff.
The allegations in the complaint are claims made by the plaintiff and her attorneys and have not been established in court.
Anyone who believes they or someone else may be experiencing human trafficking can contact the Houston Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit at 713-308-8600 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
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