Multiple Las Vegas casinos have been named in a lawsuit that alleges staff turned a blind eye to an underage victim of human trafficking seeking commercial sex on their properties in the mid 2000s.
The lawsuit is filed on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff called Tyla D., who was a trafficked sex worker at ages 14 and 15 years old in 2006 and 2007.
Included in the lawsuit are allegations Tyla was forced to walk the casino floors by her trafficker at MGM Grand, the Mandalay Bay, and the Venetian looking for customers.
The complaint read: “Although her traffickers got her a fake ID. in the name of ‘Naina Santiago,’ Tyla didn’t look 18, let alone 21. She looked like what she was, a lost and frightened 14- (and eventually 15-) year-old girl, dressed up for sex appeal by an older man.”
The complaint was filed by personal injury attorneys THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys, with assistance from Hilton Parker LLC.
The lawsuit is suing under several counts, including the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act 2000 and Child Abuse Victims’ Rights Act 1986.
Defendants push to dismiss case
The named defendants in the lawsuit are pushing to have the case dismissed, arguing the case is beyond the statute of limitations.
They also argued they were not engaged in a trafficking venture from which they benefitted, and that the complaint contained no evidence hotel staff acted outside their normal duties.
The defendants said in their motion to dismiss: “As proud supporters of non-profit organisations that help trafficking survivors in their recovery, Movants condemn human trafficking categorically, have the utmost sympathy for its victims, and are deeply dismayed by the allegation that this heinous crime may have unfolded at their properties.
“But on these facts alleged, Movants cannot, as a matter of law, be held legally responsible for the clandestine crimes of Tyla’s alleged traffickers or the many others that she claims were directly involved.”
Lawsuit argues casinos turned blind eye
The suit detailed how Tyla sought out commercial sex in casinos as an underage victim of human trafficking.
According to the filing, Tyla was able to enter casinos without difficulty and would sit and gamble small amounts of money on slot machines near the elevators.
Male casino guests searching for commercial sex would have no trouble figuring out her purpose in the casino, said the suit. The suit argued “on information and belief” that neither would the casino’s staff or managers.
After Tyla was arrested in 2007, the complaint stated she escaped her traffickers for several years.
However, she was again trafficked in 2013 by a man known as Keith A. “Knockout” when she was 21.
During this period, Tyla was again made to look for commercial sex on the casino floors.
The lawsuit, again, argued the casinos would have been aware of these activities, highlighting that sophisticated facial recognition technology was in use by this point.
Casino facial recognition technology
The lawsuit said one purpose of this facial recognition technology was to flag and turn away visitors who were deemed to be undesirable.
It argued that the defendants’ security employees ignored a flag on Tyla because they understood casino policy to be that only undesirable or disruptive individuals seeking clients for commercial sex should be flagged and ejected from the premises.
The suit argued: “Additionally, because Defendants’ security employees were perforce more familiar with the sex industry than an average member of the public, they would have been aware that many, or even most, prostitutes are underage or are victims of coercion.
“Nevertheless, the employees turned a blind eye to Tyla’s plight because to do otherwise would have inconvenienced the employees and potentially upset her clients (and the casinos’ guests) who often came to Las Vegas for its reputation for tolerating commercial sex.”
NEXT.io has reached out for comment to the then owners of the named casinos in the suit: Las Vegas Sands, Boyd Gaming, and MGM Resorts, .
Las Vegas Sands is no longer named as a defendant in the case, with The Venetian Las Vegas LLC taking its place.
The business divested its Venetian stake in 2022, with the property now operated by Apollo Global Management.