“Our clients have suffered unimaginable trauma that has left them physically and emotionally scarred for life,” said Meagan Verschueren, an attorney with San Diego-based Singleton Schreiber, the firm representing the plaintiffs, in a statement. “It is concerning that their suffering went on for so long with multiple hotel locations turning a blind eye.” A California woman and her minor daughter have filed a civil lawsuit alleging that multiple Motel 6 locations — including one in Modesto — knowingly allowed and profited from sex trafficking that caused severe and permanent harm, according to a lawsuit announced Tuesday. The complaint, filed by a woman identified as Jane Doe 1 and her daughter, Jane Doe 2, alleges that Motel 6 entities and associated individuals failed to intervene despite repeated warning signs that Jane Doe 1 was being trafficked for commercial sex at several properties across California between 2018 and 2020.
According to the lawsuit, Jane Doe 1 was trafficked under force and coercion at Motel 6 locations in multiple cities, including Modesto, Turlock, Manteca, San Luis Obispo and Redding. The plaintiffs allege that hotel operators ignored obvious red flags and failed to implement basic measures to prevent trafficking, allowing the abuse to continue. The lawsuit further alleges that Jane Doe 1 was forced to perform commercial sex acts throughout her pregnancy at Motel 6 properties. Her daughter, Jane Doe 2, was born under what the complaint describes as emergency and life-threatening circumstances and was later diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy, which the plaintiffs attribute to violence and abuse inflicted on Jane Doe 1 during her trafficking. Attorneys for the plaintiffs claim that the hospitality industry has long been aware of sex trafficking occurring at hotels and motels but that defendants in this case failed to take meaningful action. The lawsuit alleges that some Motel 6 managers — at locations not directly named as defendants — estimated that a significant portion of their business revenue was tied to trafficking activity, though those claims have not been independently verified.
The plaintiffs are seeking damages for physical, emotional and psychological harm, as well as accountability from the defendants for what they allege was a systemic failure to prevent trafficking at their properties. Motel 6 did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
