New lawsuit details alleged sex trafficking in Brockton hotel

A woman is suing an international hotel company for allegedly allowing her to be abused, raped, and subjected to sex trafficking at a Brockton hotel.

In a complaint filed last week in U.S. District Court, lawyers with Keches Law Group lay out how Choice Hotels International allegedly turned a blind eye to signs of sex trafficking at a Rodeway Inn on Belmont Street in Brockton from 2016 to 2018.

“Choice’s decision to prioritize profits over protecting sex trafficking victims resulted in the repeated sexual exploitation and rape of [the plaintiff] on their properties,” the complaint reads.

Choice is one of the largest lodging franchisors in the world. In the complaint, the plaintiff and her lawyers argue that the alleged sex trafficking in Brockton is indicative of a wider problem within the hospitality industry.

A Choice spokesperson said Monday that the company does not comment on ongoing litigation.

“Choice Hotels condemns human trafficking in all forms, and we are committed to helping our franchised hotels create a safe environment for their staff and guests. Among other initiatives, we provide free trainings and resources so hotel owners can educate themselves and their staff on how to spot and respond to situations such as human trafficking. Over 70,000 franchisees and staff members have completed the training,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The Rodeway Inn in Brockton was converted to an emergency shelter during the pandemic, and then into housing for homeless individuals in recent years.

The plaintiff was allegedly held against her will and sex trafficked beginning in 2016. She was kept in line through force, threats of violence, deprivation of basic necessities, and dependency on illegal substances. Her traffickers connected with “johns” on Craigslist using the hotel’s Wi-Fi, and she was forced to have sex with multiple “johns” per stay in the Choice hotel, according to the complaint.

The plaintiff alleges that she encountered the same staff members on multiple occasions and that they would have seen obvious signs of her abuse. According to the complaint, she asked staff members for help multiple times and alerted them to the alleged sex trafficking that was occurring at the hotel. The traffickers “followed a repetitive and routine procedure,” the complaint says, and Choice “knew or should have known” about the illegal activity.

The traffickers were violent with the plaintiff while staying at the hotel, sometimes throwing furniture or beating her. The sounds of this abuse would have been audible outside the rooms, but staff never investigated or contacted police, according to the complaint.

There were other red flags that should have been apparent to staff members, including the traffickers paying for stays in cash, requesting rooms away from other guests, signs of illegal drug use, a large number of used condoms in the trash, and an unusually large number of male visitors coming into and out of the rooms booked by the traffickers, according to the complaint.

Choice had access to various forms of information that would have indicated sex trafficking was occurring at the Brockton hotel but chose to prioritize keeping rooms booked instead, according to the complaint.

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