Court appearances reveal more details about sex trafficking bust at Omaha hotel

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Court appearances Thursday revealed new details about a sex trafficking bust in Omaha earlier this week.

Police say two girls, ages 15 and 16, were forced to have sex with multiple men for money at the AmericInn hotel near South 15th and Spring Street.

Investigators with Omaha Police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security located and arrested six suspects: Vishalgir Goswami, 31, Sumit Chaudhari, 23, Kavankumar Patel, 26, Eduardo Perdomo, 36, Alfredo Zambrano-Hurtado, 24, and Michel Martinez-Gonzalez, 28.

In court Thursday, prosecutors laid out how investigators believe the sex trafficking scheme was conducted.

Perdomo is accused of transporting the victims from Colorado to Nebraska, with the help of Zambrano-Hurtado and Martinez-Gonzalez.

Prosecutors alleged that Perdomo would “frequently” force victims to participate in sex acts by threatening them, and that he took photos of one of the juveniles posing in sexual positions while wearing lingerie. Perdomo then posted the photos online as an advertisement for commercial sex, according to prosecutors.

Zambrano-Hurtado is accused of being the one who would take the victims to the clients and wait outside until they were done, and prosecutors said in this instance, the victims indicated that the men would force them to have sex with hotel employees in exchange for a free stay.

The employees — Goswami, Kavankumar, and Chaudhari — are accused of each paying $60 to have sex with the victims. All three hotel workers are being held without bond.

Police said an undercover detective pretended to be interested in purchasing sex online and found the two victims in the hotel.

The other three suspects, the alleged traffickers, each had their bond set between $5-10 million.

As for the victims, Omaha Police transported them to a local nonprofit called Project Harmony, which works with survivors of abuse and trafficking.

Katie Welsh, a local expert and advocate with the Women’s Center for Advancement in Omaha, says there are several misconceptions when it comes to sex trafficking. While not commenting on the hotel sex trafficking case in particular, Welsh spoke with First Alert 6 about what they see with their clients.

“A lot of folks believe that trafficking will happen by somebody getting taken from a parking lot and then forced into the sex trade,” Welsh said. “We know that’s typically not the case. It’s more than likely that a trafficker will use the internet or use somebody the victim trusts to entice them to join them in their business. A lot of times, the victim will feel as though the trafficker loves them.”

Some people are more vulnerable than others, crime data shows. People without U.S. citizenship, people in the LGBTQ community, and people facing financial hardship are seen as higher-risk to fall victim to sex trafficking.

“It can happen to anybody,” Welsh said.

The most important thing? If you see something, say something.

If someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, or if you observe someone you believe may be in danger, contact 911 or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. There is also the Nebraska Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-833-757-5665.

--

Digital producer Nick Stavas contributed to this report.

Get a first alert on breaking news delivered to your inbox. Sign up for First Alert 6 email updates.

Copyright 2025 WOWT. All rights reserved.