Florida Hotel Clerk Rescues Girls From Sex Trafficking

A hotel clerk in Florida is being credited with rescuing two minors from commercial sex trafficking, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.

Authorities said in a press release that the hotel clerk walked into a room at the Lake Worth Beach area hotel on Sunday and observed two females sitting on a bed with an adult male, with a condom on top of the bed.

According to the statement, "the witness stated he called police after observing how young the two females appeared to be and their demeanor."

Richard Baron, who owns the hotel and has worked there 12 years, identified himself as the unnamed clerk in an interview with WPEC News.

Baron told the outlet that when the male suspect, Richard Flores, checked into the hotel on Sunday, he was alone. But 30 minutes later, Baron said he could hear him arguing with another hotel guest, Maria Barrios Calero, and went to check the room. That's when he came across the suspicious scene with the young girls.

"Then I see two young women, girls, sitting in the middle of the bed. She [Calero] says to me 'He has to pay. He didn't pay. He has to pay.' I don't know what happened between them," Baron told WPEC.

Baron said he immediately called the police and took a video on his phone while Calero attempted to leave with the two minors.

According to authorities, Calero is accused of coordinating a “date” between Flores and the two minor victims. The two minor victims were taken to the hotel where Flores paid to have sexual intercourse with them.

Both suspects have been arrested. Calero was charged with three counts of human trafficking (minor) and Flores was charged with two counts of human trafficking (minor).

In an interview, Baron credited state training for helping him observe the signs of trafficking. Hospitality workers in the state of Florida have been required to complete annual human trafficking awareness training since 2021.