A 24-year-old man was charged June 15 with having sex with an underage girl at a Bridgeton motel.

Miguel Paloalto Lucas, 24, faces statutory rape and statutory sodomy charges.

Bridgeton Police said in a report that a 15-year-old girl told them that Paloalto Lucas had sex with her sometime between 11 p.m. June 13 and 8 a.m. June 14 at the America’s Best Value Inns and Suites, 3655 Pennridge Drive in Bridgeton.

Paloalto Lucas is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, according to the report. He is being held on a $50,000 bond at St. Louis County Circuit Court.

Immigration and Naturalization Service authorities have been notified regarding his immigration status, said Lt. Steve James, with Bridgeton Police.

Charges were filed against two residents staying at the America’s Best Inns and Suites on two separate incidents that occurred just hours apart. Another resident was charged with molesting a 5-year-old on June 14 about a block from America’s Best Value Inns.

James said the two cases were unrelated.

When asked if the hotel was a problem in the area, James said many cities face the same issue.

“Anytime you have hotels charging very low rates for rooms there’s a lot of problems. That’s true in any city,” James said. “It brings a transient population with no ties to the community, and that’s when things like this happen.”

Kamesh Patel, the owner of America’s Best Value Inns in Bridgeton, said he has been able to eliminate many problems since purchasing the building three years ago from Motel 6.

Patel said he and his employees have been aggressive in dealing with problem customers and even evicted some tenants on Monday, he said.

“But if they’re not a problem and don’t seem to be bothering anyone,

He said the motel has had many Mexican workers who are in town working to repair hail damage.

“Right now, we’re in the process of remodeling, and after that is finished we may be able to raise our rates. That may take care of part of the problem,” Patel said.

“But you have problems anywhere you go, if you’re a five-star hotel or an economy (motel).”

Currently, the Americas Best Value Inn charges $36 per night, about the same nightly rate as Motel 6 charged three years ago, he said.