SMYRNA — Gwinnett County native testified in federal court today about the sexual and physical abuse she endured as a victim of sex trafficking.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
She is one of the 11 women who sued Red Roof Inn, claiming to be victims of sex trafficking at two metro Atlanta locations.
Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was in the courtroom Thursday for the gut-wrenching testimony.
Victims claim that they were forced to have sex with numerous men and stay at the Smyrna Red Roof Inn five nights a week seeing a different man every 30 minutes. Attorneys for Red Roof Inn deny those allegations, but it will be up to a jury to decide.
On Thursday, the jury heard from a local woman, Chelsea.
She told jurors that after graduating from Berkmar High School, she and her family moved to Dunwoody, where she eventually met two traffickers known as “Bagz” and “Fresh”.
From 2009 to 2015, Chelsea said she was forced into sex trafficking, primarily meeting her customers at the Red Roof Inn on North Druid Hills Road.
RELATED STORIES:
- Sex trafficking survivor gives emotional testimony in metro Atlanta Red Roof Inn federal civil trial
- Testimony showed customers complained of underage prostitution at Red Roof Inns
- Red Roof Inn denies sex trafficking allegations as jury selection begins for federal trial in Cobb
While on the stand, Chelsea recounted a terrifying night when one of her traffickers beat her inside a hotel bathroom.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
I was naked on the toilet and venting to Becca,” she said. “I knew Bagz was up there, and he started punching me in the face and all over!”
She said that when she finally realized what was happening, she remembered her friend screaming at her attacker.
“Stop Daddy! Please stop!” she said her friend told her attacker.
Chelsea told jurors that she was beaten multiple times, showing photos displaying her black eyes and a broken nose.
“I knew something was wrong. I knew something was very wrong,” she testified. “But I couldn’t think of myself as a victim because I had to survive.”
She said she tried to escape six separate times but wasn’t free until police arrested one of her traffickers in 2015.
When asked if she believed the employees of Red Roof Inn knew what was happening, Chelsea broke down in tears.
“For six years, they allowed us to be there,” she testified. “For six years, they allowed my traffickers to be comfortable.”
Red Roof Inn denies participating in and benefiting from sex trafficking. The company has stated in previous testimony that it investigated complaints at the two locations before and after the lawsuits but was unable to verify those complaints.
©2024 Cox Media Group
