{"id":221557,"date":"2025-05-07T08:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-07T12:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=221557"},"modified":"2025-05-07T08:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-05-07T12:08:13","slug":"roswell-hotel-at-center-of-child-sex-trafficking-case-shut-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/?p=221557","title":{"rendered":"Roswell Hotel at Center of Child Sex Trafficking Case Shut Down"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Roswell officials have ordered the Economy Hotel to vacate and cease operations by 5 p.m. Saturday, May 10, citing numerous safety violations that pose &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to occupants. The hotel, located at 9995 Old Dogwood Road, was recently at the center of a child sex trafficking case that led to the arrest of six men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Fire Marshal inspections revealed over 15 serious code violations, including non-operational smoke detectors, blocked exit routes, exposed wiring, structural deficiencies, signs of fungal growth, and water damage throughout the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The health and safety violations identified by the City of Roswell&#8217;s Fire Marshal and Chief Building Inspector are unacceptable anywhere\u2014and certainly not in the City of Roswell,&#8221; Mayor Kurt Wilson said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By The Numbers:<\/strong> The hotel must evacuate all occupants within four days of the May 6 order. City representatives will be on-site daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through May 10 to help coordinate resources for displaced residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>In Context:<\/strong> The Economy Hotel was in the news last week when it became the focal point of a <a href=\"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/crime\/roswell-hotel-employees-involved-in-sex-trafficking-of-2-children\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"221348\">child sex trafficking investigation<\/a>. According to police, two children under 16 were brought to the hotel by 24-year-old David Rivera, who allegedly arranged for their transportation via Uber with the intent to sexually abuse them. Rivera and five other men now face a combined 51 criminal charges related to the exploitation of these children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond this high-profile case, city officials noted the hotel &#8220;has been the site of numerous public safety complaints and criminal investigation of occupants over the past several years.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Specific Violations:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fire alarm system deficiencies, including non-operational smoke detectors.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Blocked and obstructed egress (exit) routes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lack of fire extinguishers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Malfunctioning emergency lighting.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exposed wiring in the interior and on the exterior, posing significant shock hazard to the occupants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unpermitted electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work throughout the building.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Deterioration of structural egress (exit) elements of the building, including stairs and stair treads.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Non-functional elevator, with no other elevators provided.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Signs of fungal growth due to moisture issues throughout the building and rooms.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Damaged and non-functional fuel-burning boilers, as well as expired operating permit for boiler.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Entry doors that are damaged and do not protect against unauthorized entry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Falling ceiling material and damaged walls, flooring, and ceiling materials.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u00a0Non-functional toilets, faucets, and bathing areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exposed lighting fixtures in bathing\/shower areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Water leaks and active water intrusion into multiple units causing damage to the walls and ceilings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dryers that are not properly vented, with potential to cause flammable material to accumulate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Take Action:<\/strong> Current hotel occupants needing assistance with alternative housing can contact the city at 770-767-0964 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n[mailerlite_form form_id=2]\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Roswell officials have ordered the Economy Hotel to vacate and cease operations by 5 p.m. Saturday, May 10, citing numerous safety violations that pose &#8220;imminent threat&#8221; to occupants. The hotel, located at 9995 Old Dogwood Road, was recently at the center of a child sex trafficking case that led to the arrest of six men. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":948,"featured_media":221558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[17840,9101],"class_list":["post-221557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-economy-hotel","tag-human-trafficking","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/948"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=221557"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221557\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=221557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=221557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thegeorgiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=221557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}