College Park hotel ordered to pay $164 million to victim in child sex trafficking lawsuit

A federal jury has awarded an unidentified survivor of sex trafficking a $164 million verdict in her lawsuit against a Georgia motel owner.

Attorneys for Andersen, Tate & Carr, the legal firm that represented the woman, said that it was the largest sex trafficking verdict ever returned in the United States.

In her lawsuit, the victim, identified only as J.R., claimed she was only 15 years old when traffickers brought her to the Super 8 hotel on Old National Highway in College Park in 2020. She was taken to the hotel multiple times in 2020 and 2021, during which time she sometimes stayed for weeks while being sold for sex to multiple buyers a day, the lawsuit stated.

During the three-day trial, testimony showed that J.R. shared a room with as many as eight other victims during her time at the hotel, the law office said. J.R. told the jury that she tried to get help from a hotel employee to escape, but said they refused to assist her and wouldn't let her use the hotel phone because they knew she was associated with the traffickers.

Among those who testified was a former housekeeper for the motel, who claimed that some employees were paid to act as lookouts and warned the traffickers when police were present. She also alleged that employees rented rooms by the half-hour or hour for sex. 

"This was not a case about expecting hotel employees to recognize a single subtle warning sign," attorney Patrick McDonough said. "The evidence showed that there were repeated, visible indicators of trafficking over an extended period. Hotels are uniquely positioned to recognize these signs, train their employees, and take action. When businesses instead benefit financially while vulnerable people are exploited, there must be accountability."

The jury found Lincoln Bancorp, LLC, the operator of the Super 8, liable for $164 million, awarding J.R. $44 million in compensatory damages and $120 million in punitive damages.

"This verdict sends a powerful message that hotels cannot turn a blind eye when children are being trafficked on their property," McDonough said. "Our client was a child. She deserved protection, and instead, according to the evidence presented in this case, the people who could have helped her failed her. Her courage in coming forward and telling her story made this verdict possible, and we hope it helps drive meaningful change throughout the hospitality industry."

This was one of a series of lawsuits filed by the law office against Atlanta-area hotels accusing them of supporting sex trafficking.