La Quinta Hotel Ordered to Add Security, Curb Prostitution

La Quinta Hotel on Paseo Montril in Rancho Penasquitos agreed to the terms of the settlement

A North County hotel has been ordered to increase security after complaints of prostitution and nuisance activity.

La Quinta Hotel on Paseo Montril in Rancho Penasquitos must now install more security cameras and signs to deter criminal activity.

The hotel agreed to do this as part of a settlement with the San Diego City Attorney's office.

The San Diego Police Department discovered prostitution at the hotel during several undercover sting operations.

Court documents show multiple undercover operations where investigators said they arranged to meet at the hotel with prostitutes through websites.

The hotel is located in the suburbs, which is surprising to many locals, including Sabre Springs resident Amy Sandoval.

“It’s a very, very family-oriented area; lots of kids, lots of families, lots of schools nearby. I would never imagine anything like that going on in this area,” said Sandoval. “You don’t expect an area like this to have that problem.”

However, as this case proves, Deputy City Attorney Nicole Pedone says a bust like this could happen anywhere.

“These types of things really can happen anywhere, even in the best of neighborhoods, as we can see,” said Pedone. “Anyone who drives past this motel can see it’s a well-kept hotel – it’s a nice hotel. From the outward appearance, no one believed there would be any crime or nuisance issues here.”

According to Pedone, the hotel became a hub for prostitution, with prostitutes congregating there on a regular basis. Since the hotel is near a freeway, she believes the location gave easy access to those involved in the illegal activity.

“In this case, there were approximately 16 arrests since March of 2012,” said Pedone. “I think that is a fairly significant number.”

A couple of those arrests involved an alleged pimp and prostitute who had a 6-year-old child together. The child was actually present at the hotel at the time of their arrests, Pedone said.

Pedone is hopeful that these added security measures will be effective in curbing the problems in the area.

“Hopefully we can push [this activity] out of our city and make our city safer,” she said.

Find out more about this story Thursday on NBC 7 News at 4, 5 and 6.
 

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