Illicit massage parlors prolific and lucrative, study finds - Chron.com

[massage]

Houston hosts hundreds of massage parlors described in sleazy online sex forums like RubMaps.com that generate about $107 million in illicit revenues each year, according to a new study by Vanessa Bouche, a Texas Christian University political science professor and human trafficking expert.


Erotic pseudo spas both here and in other U.S. cities often serve as fronts for sophisticated multinational human trafficking rings that import and exploit mostly Asian victims, often from China or Thailand, according to U.S. State Department reports, federal court cases and other studies.


Houston has long been considered a hub for human trafficking - a form of human slavery - and Bouche's study, which employs a unique method to gauge the economic power of the growing network of rogue businesses, underscores how lucrative fake massage parlors can be.


Bouche mined internet sex forum reviews to identify 207 Houston-area massage parlors that appeared to be both illicit and blatantly open for erotic business. She then picked 32 massage parlors to study in-depth, placing hidden cameras on public streets near entrances and collecting 24-hour surveillance videos in December 2015.


Based on reviews of that sample, she estimates that 2,869 men per day visit illicit massage parlors across Houston for sexual services that ranged in cost from $50 to $100. Most of the so-called illicit massage parlors - IMPs - are in suburban strip malls and were busiest between noon and 4 p.m.


"Men are visiting these places for services on their lunch hour," Bouche said.


Her study underscores that these businesses are common, lucrative and incredibly easy to detect, and yet spa operators have been very difficult to stop even in Houston, where state and federal authorities have active anti-human trafficking task forces and use civil lawsuits to sue landlords and criminal front companies.


For more than a decade, Houston-based state and federal agents have busted large multinational rings that kidnapped and sold Mexican and Central American women and teens out of cantinas near the Port of Houston. They also have successfully gone after U.S. traffickers who used online advertising and Backpage.com to lure American teenagers into prostitution and then sold them to strangers.


But locally and nationwide, federal prosecutors have made only a handful of criminal cases against the owners of erotic massage parlors who prey on mostly Asian immigrant victims, said Bouche, who also maintains a database of human trafficking prosecutions.


'An interesting puzzle'


Last year, federal prosecutors in Minnesota made a case against Thai sex traffickers tied to spa operations in multiple U.S. cities, including Dallas and Houston.


"One of the reasons it does pose an interesting puzzle is you have a city that has done a lot to oppose sex trafficking, but less has been done in this particular sector," she said.


JoAnne Musick, chief of sex crimes for the Harris County District Attorney's Office said her unit continues to try to coordinate with the county attorney and others to tackle the massive massage parlor problem.


"We routinely work with police to build cases and prosecute the workers, buyers, managers and owners who are part of the illicit massage business," Musick said. "Based on the sheer number of operations, this is a tremendous battle."


In December 2015, the Houston city council approved a tough massage parlor ordinance to allow police better access to inspect facilities. In the aftermath, officers targeted several rogue operations, including PH Spa that was open seven days a week and where officers found lingerie, condoms and erotic posters as well as bedrooms.


Under the new law, uniformed officers can inspect, either with the owner's permission or a warrant, any facility that advertises massage services, in addition to state licensed massage parlors.


Yet many illicit spas operate in unincorporated Harris County beyond the reach of that ordinance, Bouche's study shows.


Her research reveals illicit massage parlor clusters in the International District in southwest Houston, in the Galleria area, in Katy and along F.M. 1960 in northwest Houston.


In the last two years, Assistant County Attorney Celena Vinson has filed 24 civil lawsuits to try to shut down and evict massage businesses that appear to harbor human trafficking by using laws designed against "public nuisances."


But even when she wins, Vinson said her goal is not to rescue victims or even to prosecute owners but rather to get landlords to evict illicit massage businesses by presenting information about illegal activity that often must be gathered through time-consuming undercover police work and repeated prostitution stings. Unfortunately, the same rogue operations tend to pop up in another location or reopen under another name. Vinson said she will use the new research as a tool to continue that fight.


Mattresses a clue


Vinson urges citizens to report illicit massage parlors. Unlike legitimate massage studios, the so-called IMPs sometimes simply refuse women customers. Entrances often have odd security doors or barriers that block the view to massage rooms. Employees often appear to live on-site - mattresses, refrigerators, suitcases and cooking facilities are commonly seen by inspectors.


"No legitimate (massage) business should have a mattress," she said.


Vinson and criminal prosecutors say it's often difficult to determine true owners of rogue massage businesses she attempts to target through civil actions. Many have registered business names that lead only to shell companies with post office boxes for addresses.


Ringleaders have proven particularly difficult to prosecute, according to a review of dozens of Texas and federal trafficking cases. When arrests are made, it's typically women who are arrested for prostitution, Vinson said.


"In those cases, arguably you are arresting the victims," she said.


Some of the latest massage parlor-related arrests came at a Cypress massage parlor called LL Spa on Huffmeister Road on July 24. Two women were arrested for prostitution; at the time, officials said they found no evidence of human trafficking.


But gathering that evidence isn't easy. Victims often are extremely reluctant to testify against their handlers, said Dottie Laster, a longtime anti-trafficking activist who has rescued Asian immigrant victims exploited in massage parlors in Houston and elsewhere.


Bad reviews can hurt


Victims often are brought here by their traffickers who often hold them captive, threaten or beat them and force them to work without pay or as prostitutes to pay off immigration debts.


Yet customers who comment on massage parlors online seem to assume victims are willing prostitutes. One of the most popular Houston illicit massage parlor sites in Bouche's study had more than 100 online forum reviews. Posters don't realize that negative reviews they post about women's body parts or indifferent attitudes could produce beatings from handlers, Laster said.


"If she gets a negative rating some punishment most likely will occur," Laster said.


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