Residents are frustrated with the young women offering their services as sex workers along a stretch of motels, often in broad daylight. Police and other city leaders say this is part of the decades-long prostitution problem in the area.
Last month, neighbors from a South LA community marched to bring attention to their growing concerns, including the welfare of the young women and the places that perpetuate illegal activity. I mean, the idea is to tamp down and shut off the illegal activity," said Soto.
The complaint says the city asked the New Gage Motel to implement certain measures which they failed to do. The measure included requiring all vehicles parked in the lot to have parking placards, engage a daily roving security patrol and provide camera coverage of all common areas and remotely enable LAPD to access.
Hitendra Bhakta, owner of the New Gage Motel, says he is not the one to profile his customers but rather do business and give them a room when requested, with a few exceptions like being unable to provide identification. NBC4 Investigates breaks local news on stories that affect our community directly. Here are the latest investigations out of LA and SoCal. Nobody wants trafficking in their community," said Bhakta's attorney, Frank Weiser.
And the blame on really should be put on the fact that there's loitering on the streets that's been going on for years. The city attorney says they are focusing on working with the U. I would like to give back the Figueroa corridor to the churches, to the schools, to the families, to the people who live there," said Soto.
