Birmingham lawyer sues hotel over sex trafficking

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - While Tuscaloosa police charged a motel owner for promoting prostitution Thursday, a Birmingham lawyer continues his fight against sex trafficking in civil court.

Gregory Zarzaur represents victims of crimes, including survivors of sex trafficking. He filed a lawsuit against a hotel chain in civil court arguing that hotels benefiting from the criminal activity should compensate the victims.

"Those businesses that are profiting from this crime deserve to be held accountable. Quite candidly, until they can't afford to keep acting this way, they won't stop. That's the most important message that any lawsuit gets across," Zarzaur explained.

While hotels have always been required to keep their premises safe, Zarzaur said his lawsuit is one of the first of its kind to argue that responsibility extends to sex trafficking situations as well.

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