Woman Sues Oregon Motel for $4M over Alleged Pimp Operation

A woman who says she’s a victim of sex trafficking has filed a $4 million lawsuit against a Portland motel, alleging it failed to prevent pimps from forcing her to have sex with countless men there.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reported the lawsuit filed last week doesn’t name the motel, its owners or employees and is heavily redacted to keep those identities from becoming public.

Court papers associated with the lawsuit say police and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office have asked Joel Shapiro, the woman’s civil attorney, to keep that information confidential because it could jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation.

The suit claims the motel “knew or should have known” that the woman was being forced into prostitution while staying at the motel from September 2016 to January 2018 and that during that time the motel profited from the alleged crimes.