Four Santa Cruz massage parlors busted in prostitution sting - San Jose Mercury News

[massage]

SANTA CRUZ -- Four Santa Cruz massage businesses are under fire after the Santa Cruz Police Department Neighborhood Enforcement Team cited one woman at each location for prostitution during an undercover human trafficking and prostitution sting Jan. 29.

According to Santa Cruz police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke, the women offered to perform sex acts on undercover officers in exchange for money during the course of a massage.

Four women, ages 30, 42, 44 and 50, were cited for soliciting an act of prostitution and released, Blaschke said. Each woman was identified as a Chinese national.

Despite the arrests, all four of the massage parlors remained open for business Tuesday afternoon.

Shu Fan Xuan, owner of Lucky Valley Health Center at 827 Water St., expressed shock and confusion when asked about the investigation. With her son, Bruce Wang, acting as a translator, she denied any knowledge of prostitution at her business and called the allegations "a huge misunderstanding."

Although Shu Fan Xuan acknowledged she employed two masseuses a day, she said she was not aware one of them had been cited for prostitution Jan. 29.

"My mother was at the business when the police were there," Wang said. "There is an error. It's not true."

Blaschke said she would be "very surprised" if the owner of the massage parlor was not aware of the incident if she was at the location during the arrest.


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The three female employees working at Asian Massage on 212 Fern St. Tuesday did not speak English, but a man who identified himself as a friend and translator of the owner also called the allegations a mistake. The man asked not to be identified.

At Golden Bay Spa on 551 Frederick St., a man hurried out of the business and sped away in a car as the female employee behind the counter said, "No comment."

The door of the fourth business, Healthy Care Acupuncture and Massage at 223 River St. was locked, although an illuminated open sign remained in the window.

The names of the four women cited for prostitution were not released because women engaged in illegal acts of prostitution are often victims of a larger human trafficking operation.

Victim advocates from the police department and Monarch Services accompanied officers and assisted in assessing the participants for possible human trafficking involvement, Blaschke said. The team also included Mandarin and Cantonese translators.

"At the time of the arrests, the women didn't self identify as victims of human trafficking," Blaschke said. "However, involving the victims advocates provides the women an avenue to escape any negative situation down the road if they choose to."

Laura Segura, executive director of Monarch Services, said victims of human trafficking are protected by state law.

"We typically provide information and support," she said. "They have the right to a confidential victim's advocate in California."

According to Blaschke, community complaints and suspicions about activity occurring in the businesses prompted the sting and the Neighborhood Enforcement Team plans to conduct similar operations in the near future.

The Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team, the District Attorney's Office and Federal and State law enforcement all contributed to the operation. ------ (c)2016 the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) Visit the Santa Cruz Sentinel (Scotts Valley, Calif.) at www.santacruzsentinel.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2016-02-03T05:16:00-05:00

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