Atlanta-area Days Inn settles $5M child sex trafficking lawsuit

STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. - A Days Inn in metro Atlanta has agreed to pay two survivors of child sex trafficking a combined $5 million to settle a federal lawsuit.

Sex trafficking at Atlanta motel

What we know:

The victims, both just 14 at the time, said they were sold for sex at the Stockbridge hotel in March 2013. They accused hotel staff of ignoring and, in some cases, facilitating the abuse.

The operator, MASP LLC, agreed to the public settlement, according to the victims' attorney. In July, a federal jury ordered a Decatur motel to pay $40 million in another child sex trafficking case, also brought by McDonough.

Law enforcement arrested and charged the traffickers, who later pleaded guilty. 

Human trafficking survivor speaks out

What they're saying:

"We had to do things that we didn't want to do. We had to do things that were not child appropriate," said survivor Armani S.

Her attorney, Pat McDonough, said evidence showed hotel workers were complicit. "She had the wherewithal when she was a 14-year-old child, actually, right. In her statement when she got rescued that the front desk was in on it with the trafficker. And that was really kind of our smoking gun," he said.

McDonough said the goal of such lawsuits is to hold the hospitality industry accountable. "The whole goal is to try to change the hospitality industry where it's not profitable for them to do that," he said.

Armani, who calls her ordeal a "tower moment," said she insisted the settlement be made public to raise awareness. "I want to spread awareness, one to the survivors like myself. So. So the people that are actually still ongoing in it. And three, to those who turned a blind eye," she said.

Armani said while the abuse changed her, it did not destroy her. "It didn't break me, of course, because I'm sitting here and I'm able to talk to you. But it did build me. And. And what it did is it just built a very strong woman," she said.

Days Inn: No comment yet

The other side:

A front desk worker at the Days Inn said the manager was unavailable to comment. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, which owns the Days Inn brand, has not responded to requests for comment.