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Hotel Circle Howard Johnson faces penalties for prostitution complacency

The Howard Johnson hotel on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley has been ordered by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith’s office to pay $10,000 in fines and over $21,000 in investigative costs to the City of San Diego as a result of ongoing prostitution activities at the facility with the owner and staff’s complacency.

In less than a year, the San Diego Police Department’s VICE squad tallied 18 prostitution-related arrests on the property, one involving human trafficking of a minor.

The hotel was found to have no on-site security, inadequate lighting, minimal video surveillance, and a lax registration process that allowed guests to pay cash for a room without requiring a deposit.

As part of the settlement under the city’s Red Light Abatement Act, hotel operator Chhatrala Hospitality Group, LLC, owned by Hemant Chhatrala, must hire a round-the-clock security guard and install additional cameras. Lighting on the property also must be improved, and signs to deter criminal activity will be posted. Hotel employees will henceforth have to require an additional deposit for rooms paid in cash, take photocopies of driver’s licenses or ID cards for all guests and visitors, keep a record of vehicles registered to guests and visitors, and maintain a “Do Not Rent” list of problematic guests.

Payment of the $10,000 civil penalty has been stayed for six months, pending Chhatrala’s full compliance with the new requirements and the submission of weekly reports to the City Attorney’s Office.

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The Howard Johnson hotel on Hotel Circle in Mission Valley has been ordered by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith’s office to pay $10,000 in fines and over $21,000 in investigative costs to the City of San Diego as a result of ongoing prostitution activities at the facility with the owner and staff’s complacency.

In less than a year, the San Diego Police Department’s VICE squad tallied 18 prostitution-related arrests on the property, one involving human trafficking of a minor.

The hotel was found to have no on-site security, inadequate lighting, minimal video surveillance, and a lax registration process that allowed guests to pay cash for a room without requiring a deposit.

As part of the settlement under the city’s Red Light Abatement Act, hotel operator Chhatrala Hospitality Group, LLC, owned by Hemant Chhatrala, must hire a round-the-clock security guard and install additional cameras. Lighting on the property also must be improved, and signs to deter criminal activity will be posted. Hotel employees will henceforth have to require an additional deposit for rooms paid in cash, take photocopies of driver’s licenses or ID cards for all guests and visitors, keep a record of vehicles registered to guests and visitors, and maintain a “Do Not Rent” list of problematic guests.

Payment of the $10,000 civil penalty has been stayed for six months, pending Chhatrala’s full compliance with the new requirements and the submission of weekly reports to the City Attorney’s Office.

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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