The victim of a brutal 2021 rape at a Florida hotel that was partially caught on camera has settled a lawsuit against the business for $16 million, according to a report.
The unidentified 67-year-old woman and her husband were staying at a Miami Rodeway Inn while vacationing and house-hunting in the area, according to Local 10.
At one point during their stay, Travon Smith, 22, suddenly opened their hotel room door and tussled with the husband — even biting the stunned spouse at one point.
“The face is in front of me every night, every morning, during the day,” the woman told the outlet after her mammoth court victory. “This bastard — what he’s done to me.”
Smith then turned his attention to her, beating and strangling her before dragging her into a nearby elevator and forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
The woman suffered broken ribs and brain bleeding, her husband said at the time.
Surveillance footage shows her being dragged across the corridor.
The woman told cops that she was choked to the point that she lost her sight — and that staffers did nothing to stop the assault despite it occurring in an open hallway.
“He grabbed me to the elevator,” the victim told Local 10. “He forced me to do so many things. I was screaming and I was screaming so many times.”
Citing lax security — and the unwillingness of employees to intervene — the woman sued the hotel and settled with them for $16 million this week. The firm tasked with securing the property is responsible for $5 million of that sum.
“Nothing was done to intervene as this woman was beaten and sexually assaulted for ten straight minutes in the middle of an open hallway at the hotel,” their attorney, Justin Shapiro told the outlet. “With the settlement they’ll have the closure they deserve and the financial security that they’ll need for the rest of their lives.”
The hotel did not admit fault and Shapiro said they have since upgraded security at the location.
Smith’s criminal trial is slated to begin in August.