Vic Reynolds, Cobb County district attorney (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

With help from a nonprofit group of civil litigators, Cobb County District Attorney Vic Reynolds said Friday his office has reached a settlement of a lawsuit against a hotel that he believes will help curb sex trafficking.

“This case is a great example of law enforcement and prosecutors utilizing every tool available to make sure children will not be sold for sex in Cobb County,” Reynolds said in a news release Friday. “I am very proud of this result.”

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Childs signed a consent order approving the deal with the Masters Inn and its owner, Rakesh Patel of Hiraba Corp. The order requires the hotel to:

• Contact and cooperate with police regarding any suspected criminal activity there;
• Require valid photo identification of all patrons;
• Maintain complete and accurate guest rosters as well as a 'no rent' list of people previously arrested there;
• Require all staff to undergo training to recognize and prevent human trafficking;
• Hire at least one licensed and armed security guard;
• Install proper outdoor lighting, high-quality video surveillance, and fencing; and
• Prevent loitering.

Georgia's public nuisance laws allow attorneys to file civil suits to target drug-related activity on private property, but Reynolds said he believes this case is the first aimed at also curbing suspected sex trafficking.

Patel and his attorney, David Jaffer, signed the consent order.

“I disagree that there was ever any credible evidence against my client of any sex trafficking activities at his location,” Jaffer said Friday. “Nevertheless, we were presented with an opportunity to collaborate with the district attorney's office and local law enforcement to help prevent sex trafficking from taking place at my client's business in the first place. It is not often that we get a chance where businesses, local law enforcement, elected officials and residents can work together to make our communities better.”

Signatures on the consent order included private attorneys Karine Burney and Jason Nohr as special assistant district attorneys sworn in for this case. Burney and Nohr work with a nonprofit organization called Civil Lawyers Against World Sex Slavery.

Trial lawyer David Boone founded CLAWS in 2014. He said at the time his inspiration came from his daughter, who became aware of the extent of the tragedy of human trafficking after working  as a missionary in India. The Cobb case was exactly the kind of cooperative work Boone envisioned for the organization, although he did not live to see it. Boone died in 2018 at the age of 63.

CLAWS members continued the work and met with the DA and law enforcement officials in Cobb last year to talk about data collected on hotels with high arrest rates for drugs, prostitution and trafficking. Reynolds said police had made a previous drug arrest at the hotel and rescued a woman they believed had been held there against her will to be sold for sex.

“This suit is one of the first of its kind in Georgia,” Nohr said in the DA's news release. “Human trafficking is such a gut-wrenching crisis and we know, unfortunately, that Atlanta is a hub for this activity. Although criminals are prosecuted, the crime doesn't stop as long as they have safe harbor with hotel operators who look the other way. We believe this is the first step in an exciting, creative partnership with the DA's Office to make a real impact on this crisis.”

CLAWS has also been working with the state attorney general's office, lawmakers, and representatives of the hotel industry on the same issues, Nohr said.

“We are interested in the deterrent value of litigation,” Nohr said. “With this result we can show other hotel owners who may be inclined to allow criminal activity on their property that it's in their best interest to partner with us and law enforcement in keeping their premises free of drug activity and human trafficking. Otherwise, they may find themselves in a similar lawsuit.”