College Park, GA — A federal jury ordered the owner of a Super 8 hotel in College Park to pay $164 million to a woman trafficked for sex at the property when she was 15, according to the case details reported by the source.
What the jury decided
The jury found Lincoln Bancorp LLC liable for $44 million in compensatory damages and $120 million in punitive damages.
Allegations from the case
The woman was reportedly held at the hotel in 2020 and 2021 for about 120 days, where she was sexually assaulted by her captors and by clients the traffickers brought to the premises, her attorney Patrick McDonough told WAGA-TV. “They set up an environment for children to be sold,” McDonough said. “This hotel operator would actually warn the traffickers if the police were coming.” He added, “Hey, look, if you’re going to turn a blind eye and profit off of children being sold, you’re going to be held accountable.”
Part of a wider legal push
The case follows a string of civil suits targeting hotels in Georgia over sex trafficking. In 2023, a DeKalb County jury awarded $40 million to a woman who was trafficked at age 16 in a case against United Inn and Suites—the first time a Georgia hotel was found civilly liable for sex trafficking, according to the source. At least three other Georgia hotels currently face similar civil suits.
Litigation is also underway in other states. The Lawsuit Information Center notes lawsuits against two hotels in New Jersey, as well as properties in Los Angeles, Ohio, and Philadelphia.
