Decatur hotel ordered to pay $40M for ignoring child sex trafficking

Hotel ordered to pay $40M to child sex trafficking survivor

A hotel in Decatur, Georgia was ordered by a federal jury to pay a child sex trafficking survivor $40 million in damages after their attorney argued staff not only knew what was happening, but supported it by selling condoms to the child.

DECATUR, Ga. - A federal jury in Atlanta awarded a child sex trafficking victim $40 million in damages for a Decatur hotel ignoring sex trafficking on its property.

Sex trafficking victim awarded damages

What they're saying:

The girl's attorney, Patrick McDonough, told FOX 5 News that at one point, in a 40-day period, the girl was sold for sex at the hotel more than 200 times.

The lawyer said his client was trafficked at the United Inn & Suites in Decatur between 2018 and 2019. He said the staff knew what was happening to his client, and refused to step in. He said the hotel even profited from the crime taking place there.

The jury gave the victim $10 million in compensatory damages and $30 million in punitive damages. The ruling was made against Northbrook Industries, Incorporated, doing business as United Inn & Suites.

"It is a victory for our client, and I'm really happy for her, and it's going to change her life. And really, there's nobody I know more deserving than someone who's been through this," McDonough said. 

McDonough hopes this case serves as a warning to other hotels where sex trafficking may take place.

"Punitive damages aren’t just a message to this hotel; punitive damages are a message and a statement to the hospitality industry. And what it says is, if you’re going to run one of these hotels, you need to do your due diligence," he said. "There's a lot of great people that run great hotels and who do the right thing... it's just there's certain places out there that decide they're going to put profits over people and in this case, over children."

"You've got to train your staff that you don't sell condoms to 16-year-olds when they come up to the front desk," McDonough said. "You need to verify, does this look right, that there's kids in this room by themselves and 20 men have gone in and out every 30 minutes."  

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Hotel's side

The other side:

FOX 5 reached out to the United Inn & Suites. Staff said the owner was unavailable for comment. During the court case, attorneys for the hotel claimed staff didn't know the trafficking was taking place.