Roosevelt Blvd. hotel owner ordered to pay millions in settlement over human trafficking

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The owner of a Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard has been ordered to pay millions of dollars as part of a human trafficking settlement. The case is connected to crimes that happened at that location.

A settlement agreement with the Days Inn at 4200 Roosevelt Boulevard indicates the hotel ownership must pay out $24 million to eight underage victims who were trafficked at the hotel in 2012 and 2013.

“The traffickers were criminally prosecuted and sent to prison, and it was time to let people know what was happening right here at hotels in Philadelphia,” said the victims' attorney, Emily Marks of Kline & Specter.

“Men coming in and out of the hotels at all hours of the day and night, underage girls walking around in lingerie, traffickers renting several rooms, young women who are staying in these rooms for days, weeks at a time, trash cans full of used condoms.”

She says the girls who were trafficked were between the ages of 14 and 17 and that criminal activity against them was open and obvious — but ignored by staff, one of whom legally should not have even been working in his role there.

“The owner of the hotel hired a security guard who had a criminal conviction that precluded him from working in security,” said Marks.

“During the course of his employment at the Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard, there were nearly 40 reports of criminal activity including prostitution and drugs that were ignored.”

She said it's a hotel owner's responsibility to report human trafficking at their location, especially in a case like this in which she describes those crimes against young girls as open and obvious.

“They were sold for sexual purposes at the Days Inn. They were sexually assaulted, raped, and at times their traffickers would beat them,” said Marks.

She added that appropriate safety policies and plans should have been put in place, “including hiring competent security to prevent this from happening.”

Marks said that the goal of this litigation is to bring awareness that human trafficking is happening in the Philadelphia area, and beyond.

“It's not just limited to Philadelphia. It's happening all across the United States and these hotels — and the hotel owners and operators — will be held accountable,” she said.

“It needs to stop.”

The owner of the hotel, 4200 Rose Hospitality LLC, did not initially return our requests for comment.

Marks says additional human trafficking claims are still pending at other hotels.