The evil of human trafficking could be closer to you than you realize.
The TownePlace Suites is a Marriott hotel in Springfield, Virginia. My family and I have passed by it many times on our way to church, the doctor’s office, and so forth.
The TownePlace was also, until a few days ago, the home of three women being held against their will. A fellow named Jamon Murphy was coercing them into prostitution. Acting on a tip to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, detectives arrested and charged him with a variety of crimes, including counts of commercial sex trafficking and abduction with a firearm.
These are for starters; other charges are possible.
In recent years, hotels and motels have become places where for trafficked women are housed. Their “owners” — the brutal men who dehumanize and threaten them into submission — like to remain on the move. Hotels provide for the fast getaways on which these monsters rely.
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