Trafficking Victim Alleges Vegas Casinos Ignored Her

A lawsuit alleges that a number of high-profile casinos have turned a blind eye to an underage victim of human trafficking. An anonymous referred to as Tyla D. says that she was trafficked in 2006 and 2007 without receiving help from casino workers.

According to the lawsuit, Tyla was forced to walk across casino floors in search of clients. Her trafficker accompanied her as she sought clients at a variety of popular casino resorts, including Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and the Venetian.

At the time, Tyla was forced to use a fake ID and the pseudonym Naina Santiago. Yet, the woman alleges that she didn’t look like an adult at all and was instead a “frightened 14-year-old girl, dressed up for sex appeal by an older man.”

The lawsuit further claims that Tyla was allowed to enter casinos and even gamble without intervention or thorough ID checks. To make matters worse, male casino visitors could easily determine what her purpose at the casino was while casino staff simply ignored her.

Tyla was arrested in 2007 and escaped her traffickers for several years but she was again forced to do sex work at casinos in 2013. Her attorneys added that, at that time, facial recognition was already in use and that casino workers should have been able to recognize her but opted to ignore her so to not upset their clients, who were also casino guests.

The Casinos Say They Cannot Be Held Responsible for the Crimes

The lawsuit alleges that the casinos violated the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act 2000 and the Child Abuse Victims’ Rights Act 1986. The complaint was filed by THE702FIRM Injury Attorneys, a personal injury attorney firm, with assistance from Hilton Parker LLC.

The named casino properties are now trying to dismiss the case, saying that it is beyond the statute of limitations. Additionally, the casinos argued that they were not involved in the trafficking operation and did not benefit from it.

The casinos also noted that their staff did not act irregularly.

The defendants expressed support for victims of human trafficking and condemned such operations but added that they could not be held legally responsible for the “clandestine crimes” of Tyla’s traffickers.

Human trafficking continues to be a serious problem, prompting action from the AGA and many leading gambling operators.