A 70-year-old manager of a motel has admitted to being guilty of trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, or forced labor, according to the US Department of Justice. Shreeshh Tiwari, an Indian national and legal US permanent resident, pleaded guilty to abusing and misusing his position of power over a female tenant by forcing her to engage in ‘commercial sexual acts.’
Tiwari was managing Budgetel Motel in Cartersville, Georgia, in 2020 and hired the victim to work fo him. At the time, the victim was homeless, was into drugs, and had lost custody of her child.
Tiwari promised to help her to regain custody of her child by providing her with an attorney, pay, and an apartment. Instead, he used her helplessness to his advantage by locking her out of her room at night and threatening to send her out, which meant homelessness for her.
He even forced her to engage in ‘commercial sexual acts’ as she was in the hope that Tiwari would keep his promise, though nothing like that happened. Tiwari’s sentencing is set for September 6, and he faces a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison, as well as a $250,000 fine. The judge from the northern district of Georgia maintained that human trafficking would not be tolerated, irrespective of one’s status.
