Less than a month after a Houston sex trafficking victim filed a ground-breaking civil lawsuit against several hotels, truck stops and websites; a second victim– Jane Doe #2 has come forward.
Just like the first, the petition claims several businesses in the Houston area turned a blind eye while profiting from the sex trade. Except this time, the lawsuit goes after an entirely different group of defendants including Wyndham Hotels.
“How can you deny knowledge that this is going on when your online reviews repeatedly cite on-going, prostitution hotbed,” attorney Annie McAdams said.
McAdams said the biggest difference between the two cases are the victims’ ages.
“Jane Doe 2 was an adult by law. She was 19. The Jane Doe 2 facts pattern illustrates the forced nature of human trafficking. The only defendant that remains the same with these two cases are Backpage.com,” McAdams said.
“This is not something that’s going to go away. This is not something that we’re going to settle once and then never bring up again. No, we’re going to keep hitting these businesses with these cases.”
The case continues to serve part of a larger message– one McAdams hopes will resonate with communities across the globe.
“Houston, Texas will really have one of the first and largest shots at really, truly trying to disrupt the status quo when it comes to human trafficking. And we want to send this message not just nationwide, but internationally, because it is an international crisis,” McAdams said.
The defendants are now in the process of being served and seeking counsel.
McAdams said she expects to file several more cases in the upcoming weeks.
NewsFix reached out to Wyndham Hotels for a response to the lawsuit, but have not heard back.
