OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - An Alameda County judge has ordered two Oakland motels that authorities say are chronic hot spots for prostitution and child sex trafficking to shut down for a year.

Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte also ordered this week that the owners of the Economy Inn and the National Lodge to each pay $45,000 in fines, attorney fees and the cost to maintain the properties while they are closed.

The Oakland City Attorney's office says the motels are expected to shutter by July 31. They city filed suit in 2010 against three motels asking the court to close them due to decades of illegal activities.

City Attorney Barbara Parker said Thursday that closing the motels for a year is a drastic and necessary step as residents and kids should not have to walk through a gauntlet of prostitution and be harassed by pimps.

 

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