A Contra Costa County woman, who identifies as a survivor of sex trafficking, has filed a federal lawsuit against five Bay Area hotels, including two in Oakland, accusing them of enabling her exploitation while profiting from her abuse. The lawsuit alleges that hotel staff and management ignored clear signs of trafficking and facilitated the criminal activity.
The lawsuit names the following hotels where the woman claims she was trafficked between 2012 and February 2017: the former Civic Center Motel in Richmond, the Astro Motel in Santa Rosa, Oakland’s Welcome Inn and Motel 6 Embarcadero, and the former Sands Motel in San Pablo.
According to the lawsuit, the woman, referred to as Jane Doe, endured years of abuse at these establishments. She alleges she was drugged, tied up, beaten, starved, and confined to cars and motel rooms. She was reportedly forced to wear minimal clothing, had no personal belongings, and was coerced into earning at least $1,000 daily through commercial sex acts under the threat of severe punishment.
At Oakland’s Motel 6 Embarcadero, the lawsuit claims staff allowed traffickers and buyers to openly frequent rooms rented for trafficking purposes. Employees allegedly ignored the ongoing activity, prioritizing profits over intervention. Similarly, at Oakland’s Welcome Inn, the woman was reportedly placed in rooms without working phones. On one occasion, when she sought help from the front desk and asked them to call the police, staff allegedly refused, leaving her to return to her traffickers, who then assaulted her.
Attempts to reach management at Motel 6 and the Welcome Inn for comment were unsuccessful.
In Richmond, the lawsuit accuses a manager known as “Pops” at the former Civic Center Motel of accepting bribes, including cash and drugs, from traffickers in exchange for renting rooms. The manager allegedly advised traffickers on how to avoid law enforcement attention and continued renting rooms despite frequent police visits to the property. The Civic Center Motel, which was converted into a Motel 6 in January 2023, is currently being purchased by the City of Richmond using a $14.5 million Homekey Grant to provide housing for homeless individuals.
The lawsuit also highlights the former Sands Motel in San Pablo, where over 150 police calls were reportedly made during the trafficking period. These calls included reports of assaults, drug offenses, and domestic violence. Despite these incidents and visible signs of abuse, staff allegedly continued renting rooms to traffickers.
The filing outlines consistent “red flags” at all the named hotels, including cash payments, extended stays, and visible signs of physical abuse. The lawsuit argues that the hospitality industry’s failure to address sex trafficking has made hotels the most common venue for such crimes in the United States. It criticizes the industry for its lack of anti-trafficking policies, inadequate staff training, and insufficient reporting mechanisms, which it claims have allowed traffickers to operate with impunity.
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, hotels are a primary venue for sex trafficking in the U.S., making it the second most profitable criminal activity in the country. The lawsuit calls for greater accountability within the hospitality industry to combat trafficking and protect vulnerable individuals.
The Richmond and San Pablo police departments, as well as the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, did not respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit at the time of publication.
This story was contributed to by Darwin BondGraham.
Source: oaklandside.org