Undercover sex sting at Pa. 'massage parlor' - PennLive.com

[massage]

Police in Monroe County, Pa., simply followed an online ad, which led them to conduct an undercover operation at an alleged massage parlor in Stroudsburg, Pa.

Our sister website, LehighValleyLive.com, reports that cops responded to an ad on backpage.com, an online classified website offering so-called adult entertainment.

The online ad showed photographs of a partially clothed woman of Asian descent, appearing to be in her 20s, along with the copy: "Real accurate photos all took this week ... Clean, private ... Always freshly showered and dressed to impress ... I never rush! Allowing you to relax and enjoy," LehighValleyLive.com reports, adding:

An undercover officer called the number listed, and a female voice in broken English promised to "have sex for $130," prosecutors say. Bring condoms and meet at a Chinese restaurant in Stroudsburg, the voice said.

Through the ad, the undercover officer met Mei Zhao, a 43-year-old from Guangzhou, China, who told authorities she had been in the United States about 10 days, the website reports, writing:

She was living in a Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, massage parlor with a suitcase and some clothes she probably brought with her, along with a rice cooker, a refrigerator and not too much food. There was a sink sprayer modified with a long hose that she used to shower, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office said.

At the time of her arrest, a woman identified Mei unlocked the massage parlor's door with the key in one hand, and police took her into custody and seized the cellphone she carried in the other, records say.

Mei gave authorities her passport and said she'd only be in the area until the following week, when the man who brought her to America would pick her up, replace her with a "new girl" then take her somewhere else, prosecutors said.

She has been charged with promoting prostitution, as police continue to investigate the business, identified as Vivi Bodyworks at 7 S. Seventh St., Stroudsburg.

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