30 victims now tied to Brooklyn Center sex trafficking raid, hotel franchisor Wyndham facing scrutiny

BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (FOX 9) - The number of victims tied to a September sex trafficking raid at two Brooklyn Center hotels has grown, and so have the questions.

Questions linger after hotel raid

Brooklyn Center Police said 30 victims are now tied to the September raid at the Super 8 and Travelodge in Brooklyn Center. Incident Commander Richard Gabler said there are no charges yet tied to the operation.

"One of the challenges is with each new victim comes new information and evidence to attempt to collect.  That wasn’t a total surprise to us but something we are having to work through," Gabler said in an email.

Local perspective:

Questions are building at City Hall as the Super 8 sits boarded up months later. "What if any responsibility does Wyndham have? Or liability does Wyndham have?" said Mayor April Graves in an October council meeting.

The two hotels at the center of the investigation, the Super 8 and next door Travelodge, had their licenses revoked and won’t be able to reapply or reopen until April 2027.

The backstory:

The Super 8 was first tied to sex trafficking more than 10 years ago. 

"I wasn't surprised, to say the least, when I saw this," said Jeffrey Montpetit, an attorney for a sex trafficking victim suing Super 8 franchisor Wyndham.

Montpetit filed his lawsuit in 2023. He’s representing a woman who says she was trafficked there in 2013 when she was 15.

Lawsuit puts focus on accountability

Montpetit said his case centers on whether the hotel profited from what happened. "You need to prove that the establishment profited," said Montpetit. "Obviously, they rented a room where the victim was trafficked. Is that profit? Seems to me that it is," said Montpetit.

Timeline:

The woman in Montpetit's lawsuit said she saw up to 20 johns per day at the hotel and often interacted with the same staff. The lawsuit says staff should have noticed red flags including visible bruising, being forced to wear provocative clothing in common areas and a nervous and fearful demeanor.

"People just can't be afraid to ask questions. People can't be afraid to report things to the police," said Montpetit.

What we don't know:

Montpetit is not representing any of the 30 victims tied to the September raid, but he is closely following the investigation. Wyndham did not respond after being asked twice about these cases.

"What can be done to make this horrible tragedy for her never happen again to a young woman like her?" said Montpetit.