4 arrested at Kentucky massage parlors that promoted prostitution, police say - Courier Journal

[massage]

Billy Kobin Louisville Courier Journal

Published 12:15 PM EDT Jul 16, 2019


Police arrested several individuals over the weekend at two Kentucky massage parlors accused of promoting prostitution.

The arrests took place at Blue Sky Spa and Lavender Massage in Bowling Green, according to police.

After receiving tips of suspicious behavior, Bowling Green Police detectives researched several local massage parlors online and found the listed phone number for Blue Sky Massage in 39 advertisements in the past 30 days on websites where commercial sex acts are advertised, according to an arrest citation.

Blue Sky Massage, on Dishman Lane in Bowling Green, was named in some of the posts, according to police.

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Detectives conducted surveillance at the Blue Sky Massage and noticed all customers were males, according to the arrest citation.

On July 12, Bowling Green detectives and investigators from the state Attorney General's Office went to the massage parlor with a search warrant. Police detained and questioned Huadi Chen, the owner of the business.

Chen, 44, told police she does not perform sex acts on men and can't help it if the male customers start masturbating, according to the arrest report.

Chen said she pays a friend to advertise her business on the internet and that she did not know the friend was advertising on sex forums, according to the arrest citation.

Using an alternative light source, police discovered what they believed was semen on the beds, floors, light switches and walls of the massage rooms, according to the arrest report.

Chen told an investigator she changes the sheets on the bed twice a week, but police noticed the sheets around the area where people lay their heads on a massage table were "brown and dirty," according to the arrest citation.

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Neither Chen nor her employee had a massage license, according to police.

Chen was charged with promoting prostitution, second-degree wanton endangerment and practicing massage therapy without a license.

On July 13, Bowling Green police arrested three people at a second massage parlor, Lavender Massage, on Russellville Road after receiving a complaint of illegal activity.

Officers had initially gone to the business July 9 and cited Lu Yuanying, 46, for practicing massage therapy without a license.

Several days later, a detective heard that Lavender Massage was open and that numerous male customers were seen visiting it.

The detective drove by the business July 13 and walked inside after noticing it was open. Inside, the detective found Yuanying giving a man a massage, according to an arrest citation.

Another employee, 54-year-old Lu Caiyuan, was also found to not have a license to practice massage therapy, according to the arrest report.

Both women claimed they did not understand that they could not give massages, despite the earlier citation from police, according to the arrest report.

The detective wrote in the arrest citation that Lavender Massage is a "very popular destination according to people on several local sex forums" but that the employees "adamantly denied doing anything illegal" when asked about prostitution.

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The owner of Lavender massage, Li Jionggang, has a California massage license that has not been transferred to Kentucky, according to the arrest report.

Jionggang, 55, also told police he pays for online advertisements but did not know the name of the person he pays, according to the arrest report, which also noted no women were seen entering the business while police watched it for nearly a week before the arrests.

Jionggang, Caiyuan and Yuanying were each charged with engaging in organized crime and practicing massage therapy without a license. Jionggang also was charged with promoting prostitution.

The four individuals at the two Bowling Green massage parlors were booked into the Warren County Regional Jail on $10,000 cash bonds, the Bowling Green Daily News reported.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in Warren District Court.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

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