Midvale massage parlor investigated for sexual crimes, possible human trafficking - KUTV 2News

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(KUTV) From the outside, the little massage parlor on the end of a strip mall along Fort Union Boulevard in Midvale would appear to be a reputable business.

Bold print letters on the door read "Open 7 days a week, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m." and an innocuous green “massage” sign hangs above the door.

A tip to the Utah Attorney General’s Office sparked an investigation into the little parlor that cops now believe is likely a front for sexual crimes and human trafficking.

“It is modern day slavery, there’s no doubt about it,” said Nate Mutter, who leads the special investigations unit at the Attorney General’s Office.

Mutter, and his team of agents, staked out the business for months, and recently obtained a warrant to raid the parlor. Investigators say they have gathered evidence to prove the business offers sexual favors in exchange for money. They also suspect the women who are performing the sex acts are being held there against their will.

Mutter said human trafficking cases involving massage parlors often involve victims who do not speak English and may be scared to escape their trafficker. He said many victims simply have no other option than to stay under complete trafficker control.

“Whether a police officer or a person, you go in and you see some of the things you see in here, your heart breaks for the victims who are involved in this, who are stuck doing this and really have no choice but to do this,” Mutter said. “The goal obviously is to get the trafficker, but even more than that is to get the victims out of the circumstances that they’re in.”

If the girls who perform the sex acts are the victims, Mutter said, the business owners are the suspects who often net big profits from the illegal sexual favors.

“[The Traffickers] are the ones pulling the strings, they’re the ones running the operation,” Mutter said.

The owners of the Midvale massage parlor are still under investigation, but could face charges soon, once investigators conclude their case.

The massage raid is the second in as many months for the AG’s office. The human trafficking investigators said the busts often require an extensive amount of surveillance and investigation, but they maintain each bust makes a difference.

“We want to make it very difficult for anyone to traffic people here in Utah. This how we do it, one step at a time, one place at a time,” Mutter said.

The cases pile up quickly at the AG’s office, which recently received a $1.3 million grant to bolster human trafficking investigations and hire a prosecutor to work specifically on human trafficking cases.

“The crazier the story, the more likely it is to be true sometimes,” said prosecutor Gregory Ferbach.

He said the new funds will help alleviate the case load under for the AG’s office, that works with, but handles cases separately from its federal counterparts.

In November, 2News talked exclusively with the FBI office in Salt Lake City about its battle to fight sex trafficking, which generally involve trafficking cases that involve force, fraud, coercion, or interstate crimes.

In a nationwide sweep in October, FBI and local officials recovered 82 sexually-exploited victims and arrested 240 pimps. One victim was recovered in Utah and three women were arrested on human trafficking related charges.

The AG’s office says many of their cases are generated by tips. They ask anyone who may see something suspicious or thinks a business may be involved in sexual crimes or human trafficking to contact them at 1-800-244-4636 or send them a message.

“Once you become educated and once you kind of open your eyes to it, it’s actually a lot easier to find,” Mutter said.

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