Inslee signs massage bill to curb sex trafficking - Yakima Herald-Republic

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Posted on April 17, 2015
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By Checks and Balances Blog / Mike Faulk
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It will soon be illegal for spa owners to knowingly employ unlicensed massage practitioners.

Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1252 into law on Friday, establishing for the first time a state law that punishes spa owners involved in potentially illicit businesses. The aim of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver, is to curtail human trafficking and prostitution operations that front as massage spas.

“The fact that sometimes these businesses are a cover for sex trafficking makes it even more important that there is a means to tackle this issue,” Wylie said in a prepared statement.

The bill passed the House and Senate with unanimous support earlier this legislative session. The law goes into effect July 26.

Under the new law, it is now a misdemeanor to knowingly employ an unlicensed massage therapist. The state previously was only able to charge the individuals practicing without a license with a gross misdemeanor.

Massage parlors have become an increasingly popular front for human trafficking, money laundering and other illegal operations across the United States.

Yakima has had its own troubles with illicit massage parlors. In September, a team of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies raided and closed six Asian massage parlors that were employing unlicensed masseuses, all of whom were Chinese immigrants who spoke little to no English.

Six women were arrested and eventually charged with practicing without a license, and two of them faced prostitution related charges. All eventually struck plea deals in which they were each required to pay $250 in fines.