Second trafficking arrest made in connection to Rogers massage parlors - KFSM 5Newsonline

[Spencer Bailey]

Raids were carried out at Ping Massage, Stream Massage, and Tulip Massage, according to Rogers police.



ROGERS, Ark. — A second arrest has been announced in connection to Rogers massage parlors that were the subject of human trafficking raids as part of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin's Operation Obscured Vision.


A release from the Rogers Police Department (RPD) on Jan. 5 said that Yuhe Yang had been arrested earlier in the week and is accused of trafficking and engaging in a continuing criminal gang, organization, or enterprise. He's being held on a $500,000 bond.


During a press conference on Jan. 24, Griffin announced that 12 different locations across the state, most identified as "illicit massage parlors," have been the subject of search warrants and raids that yielded four arrests.


Raids were carried out at Ping Massage, Stream Massage, and Tulip Massage, according to Rogers police, who said in the release that all three businesses were owned by the same three people, one of which was Yang.


Chunli Wang, 50, of Rogers, was arrested after a raid at Ping Massage and is facing one count of second-degree sexual assault. Court documents say that she also worked at or is connected to Stream Massage.


RPD said that the investigation into the remaining owners and operators of the massage parlors is continuing.


5NEWS spoke to Benton County Prosecutor Bryan Sexton about the latest arrest on Wednesday.


"We're continuing to identify potential suspects, continuing to identify and provide help to victims, and the case is, even to this hour, a continuing one," Sexton said.


The prosecutor said that the community has been openly concerned about these massage parlor businesses.


"Very few cases and very few types of crimes get people's attention," Sexton explained. "When I was out on the campaign trail, I've had folks come to me describing their concerns about these businesses. They're open late. They don't appear to have a lot of connections to the greater community. A lot of them are close to some of our residential areas."


"When one person comes and brings me this information, that's concerning. When you have multiple community members bringing you these concerns, that's a sign to me that we've got something going on," Sexton added, adding that the issue has been on their radar for "the better part of a year and a half."


Sexton said that he's working closely with local law enforcement and victim advocacy groups to help those affected as the investigation continues.


Griffin's office sent out a release shortly after the announcement from RPD.


"We expected the operation to lead to subsequent arrests, and this week we’ve seen the first of these come to pass," Griffin said. "This is only the beginning of our effort to rid Arkansas of these criminal enterprises and the havoc they wreak on victims."


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