Judge Orders Bissonnet Corridor Hotel Closed Because of Human Trafficking and Prostitution

HOUSTON, TX — The county attorney's office is really dedicated to cleaning up Houston. On Monday, Aug. 22, Judge Alexandra Smoots-Hogan, presiding over the 164th Harris County District Court, ordered the owners of a Bissonnet Corridor hotel to clean up or close down.

The ruling requires the operators of the Plainfield Inn, a hotel located two blocks from Bissonnet, to install surveillance cameras and a security gate, prohibit cash payments without proper identification, eliminate hourly rates for rooms, restrict access only to registered guests and visitors with valid identification and engage a licensed peace officer to provide security.

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The ruling came because one of Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan's nuisance lawsuits. In the court documents Ryan's office argued that the hotel borders on a blight on the city.

The Plainfield Inn is known for prostitutes, pimps and dealers. Since 2014, police have received more than 400 calls for service at the hotel.

The reasons read like a sampler menu from the Texas Penal Code: prostitution, underage prostitution, sexual assault, shootings, stabbings, robberies, aggravated assaults, fighting and illegal drug offenses. And where's there prostitution there's also human trafficking.

Sadly, the stretch of Bissonnet between the Southwest Freeway and the Belt is a human trafficking hotspot, area business owners complain of prostitutes standing in the medians and soliciting in front of their businesses and harassing customers.

To combat the problems along the corridor, The Harris County Attorney’s Office joined forces with vice officers of the Houston Police Department, the City of Houston, Harris County constables, the Southwest Management District, S.E.A.L. Security Solutions LLC, and outreach organizations to form a multi-agency task force.

In addition to increased police surveillance and outreach efforts, the Harris County Attorney’s Office and city officials are suing businesses that profit from the prostitution and crime along Bissonnet.

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