Victim count rises to 30 in Brooklyn Center hotel trafficking raid

Brooklyn Center police now say 30 people have been identified as victims in a major sex-trafficking raid at the Super 8 and Travelodge hotels, significantly higher than the 18 initially reported from the September operation.^[1]

Incident Commander Richard Gabler said Tuesday that despite the expanded victim count, no criminal charges have yet been filed in connection with the raid, which led the city to revoke business licenses for both hotels and board up the Super 8.^[1]

Brooklyn Center officials pulled the operating licenses for the Super 8 and Travelodge soon after the September raid, blocking the properties from reopening or even reapplying for licenses until at least April 2027 as investigators continue to work the case.^[1] The Super 8 now sits boarded up along a busy corridor, underscoring how the probe has reshaped not just the case but a visible piece of the city's commercial landscape.^[1]

The same Super 8 has been the focus of earlier trafficking allegations: a 2023 lawsuit filed by attorney Jeffrey Montpetit claims Wyndham's Super 8 franchisor profited from the exploitation of a 15-year-old girl at the property in 2013, alleging staff ignored clear signs of abuse over several weeks.^[1] That civil case argues the corporate franchisor had both the authority and obligation to intervene but instead continued to earn franchise fees while the trafficking allegedly occurred.^[1]

The growing number of identified victims from the September raid has renewed scrutiny of Wyndham and its oversight of branded properties, because both the earlier lawsuit and the current investigation center on the same Super 8 location in Brooklyn Center.^[1] Wyndham has not responded to two requests for comment from FOX 9 about either the 2013 trafficking allegations in the lawsuit or the more recent raid and license revocations, leaving city officials and advocates to press those questions without a public answer from the company.^[1]

1. FOX 9