ICE Reveals New Details on Chinese Illegal Alien Charged with Sex Trafficking out of Rockland Massage Parlor - The Maine Wire

[Edward Tomic]

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have revealed new details about the Chinese national now facing deportation after being charged with sex trafficking in connection to a massage parlor he operated in Rockland.

[RELATED: Owner of Rockland Asian Massage Parlor Charged with Sex Trafficking Now Being Held in ICE Custody…]

Tian “Adam” Tao, 54, owner of “Asian Massage” in Rockland, was arrested on Feb. 20 by Rockland Police on charges of sex trafficking, and was then transferred into the custody of ICE and was held at the Cumberland County Jail on a federal immigration hold.

In a Thursday press release, ICE stated that Tao is a citizen of China who originally entered the U.S. lawfully in 2016, but violated his terms of admission.

Federal Officers with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) take Tian Tao into custody | Source: ICE

ICE says they were contacted to assist in the investigation into the massage parlor by police in Lincoln County in 2023, and developed information allegedly tying Tao to other illicit massage parlors in the area.

With this information, Rockland Police obtained a state warrant and arrested Tao for sex trafficking, ICE said.

Tao remains in ICE custody pending his removal from the U.S., according to ICE.

“Illicit massage parlors are notoriously difficult to investigate, but collaboration between our special agents and local police allowed us to bring a significant consequence to a person charged with a serious crime in our community,” said Homeland Security Investigations New England Special Agent in Charge Michael Krol on Thursday.

“There is no place in New England for people who exploit and traffic vulnerable people. Working together, we prove that actions have consequences – in this case, the consequence is removal from the United States,” said Krol.

The Maine Wire identified Tao as the owner of the “Asian Massage” parlor through state records that showed the parlor was registered under his name as an LLC. Tao also appears to have been the registered agent for other massage locations around the state, including “Nirvana Spa Inc.” in Lewiston.

Rockland Police said in December Police that they believe Tao’s massage parlor was tied to New York-based organized crime.

[RELATED: Owner of Rockland Asian Massage Parlor Tied to NY Organized Crime Arrested for Sex Trafficking…]

Police announced in January that they had arrested nearly a dozen men on charges of engaging a person for prostitution in connection to their investigation of Tao’s massage parlor.

The Rockland Asian Massage parlor is the latest in a series of massage parlors in Maine targeted by law enforcement over the past year over suspected sex trafficking and forced labor.

In September 2024, 58-year-old Richard Qiu of Brooklyn, N.Y., owner of multiple massage parlors throughout Maine, was arrested by Lewiston Police and charged with two counts of sex trafficking (Class D and Class E), forced labor and criminal forfeiture

[RELATED: Owner of Several Maine Massage Parlors Charged with Sex Trafficking, Forced Labor…]

In May of last year, 45-year-old Changsheng Xiao, also of N.Y., was arrested in Portland at his massage parlor location on Forest Avenue and was charged with criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon and aggravated sex trafficking.