Hotel clerk saves girls after discovering ‘disturbing’ scene with man, Florida cops say

A Florida hotel clerk rescued two girls from a “date” after finding them sitting on a bed with a man and a condom, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

It happened around 8 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 6, at the Lago Motor Inn in Lake Worth Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami.

“In a powerful example of community action, an observant hotel worker’s bravery led to the rescue of two minor females from commercial sex trafficking,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

“The hotel clerk ... walked into room and observed both minor victims sitting on the bed with (a man). A condom was observed next to (him). The witness stated he called police after observing how young the two females appeared to be and their demeanor.”

The clerk then gave deputies consent to search the hotel room, officials said.

Two girls and two adults — a man and a woman — were taken into custody and revealed “a disturbing scenario” under questioning, detectives said.

“The investigation revealed (a woman) coordinated a ‘date’ between an adult male and the two minor victims,” officials said.

“The two minor victims were transported to the listed hotel where (the man) paid both minor victims to have sexual intercourse.”

Maria Barrios Calero, 44, faces three counts of human trafficking of a minor, and Ricardo Flores, 44, faces two counts of human trafficking of a minor, officials said.

The ages of the girls were not released and investigators did not say how they came to be in the company of Calero.

“The swift intervention of the hotel clerk, who noticed the young victims and alerted authorities, played a pivotal role in their rescue,” the sheriff’s office said.

Hotel owner Richard Baron says he’s the one who called police after investigating reports of an argument and seeing two girls with “scary” looks on their faces, station WPEC reports.

“He (Flores) opened the door, and then I see two young women, girls, sitting in yoga style, in the middle of the bed,” Baron told the station. “She (Calero) says to me: ‘He has to pay, he didn’t pay.’ I don’t know what happened between them.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2023 at 7:28 AM with the headline "Hotel clerk saves girls after discovering ‘disturbing’ scene with man, Florida cops say."