$16 Million Settlement for Woman Sexually Assaulted at Rodeway Inn While Hotel Security Watched

On the night of July 10, 2021, a 67-year-old New York woman and her husband were staying at the Rodeway Inn off Northwest 167th Street near the Golden Glades interchange in Miami-Dade County. The couple had come to South Florida to look at homes. What followed was a ten-minute attack that took place in plain sight of hotel staff.

A 22-year-old assailant, Travon Smith, forced open the couple's room door and punched the husband, biting him on the back of the neck. He then turned on the wife, strangling her, beating her, and dragging her by her hair into an elevator, where he sexually assaulted her. The victim later said she was 'strangled to the point where she lost her vision.'

Investigation by Leesfield and Partners attorney Justin Shapiro revealed what he called 'damning' evidence about the hotel's security practices. The Rodeway Inn employed a single unarmed guard to cover a seven-floor, 166-room property with two parking lots, a lobby, a pool, and multiple common areas. The hotel's own security contractor had urged management to station multiple armed guards at all times. According to testimony developed in the case, the hotel rejected those recommendations to save money. During the assault, no hotel employee or security personnel intervened.

Shapiro resolved the case in approximately 11 months. The $16 million settlement was funded by two parties: the hotel's owners paid $11 million, and the security company paid the remaining $5 million. The hotel's owners denied wrongdoing as a condition of the resolution.

Following the settlement, the victim chose to speak publicly about the attack. The hotel made security upgrades after the case concluded. Smith faced a separate criminal trial scheduled for August 2022.