On August 28, York County Police arrested three women in connection with a long-running investigation into a suspected prostitution operation at CK Spa. The women, aged 32, 43, and 69, were charged with felony counts including promoting prostitution, corrupt organizations, criminal conspiracy, dealing in the proceeds of unlawful activities, and criminal use of communication facility.
The arrests followed a four-year investigation by Springettsbury Township Police, which began in March 2021 after a tip from a nearby massage business owner. That owner contacted police after one of her clients reported an uncomfortable visit to CK Spa, during which the client claimed the masseuse removed the towel covering his genitals and asked him to turn over, which caused him to leave the appointment prematurely. The business owner then alerted police, suspecting that CK Spa was a front for commercial sex.
Investigators interviewed several male customers of CK Spa, some of whom admitted to paying for sex acts from spa employees. One customer reportedly described his experience as feeling “like he was in heaven.”
Surveillance footage showed the spa regularly received between 11 and 17 male clients per day. In addition, authorities reported that employees appeared to be living on the premises, which is a violation of township code and briefly led to the spa’s closure. Investigators later discovered that the operator of the business rented a nearby apartment to house the women. Detectives also sifted through trash removed from the spa, finding a ledger that documented work hours and earnings of employees. Police traced the spa’s earnings to a business account allegedly operated by one of the women, Qianqian Ma, which was later frozen by a York County Judge.
All three of the arrested women allegedly admitted to performing sex acts in exchange for money at the spa.
Vehicle and address records tied Ma, the alleged spa manager, to locations in Flushing, Queens, a neighborhood that law enforcement has identified as a frequent point of entry and transit for women from East Asian countries who are later exploited in illicit massage businesses. Federal cases have also identified Flushing as a key location in broader trafficking networks.
The arrests by York County Police come amid an increasing number of law enforcement operations targeting suspected illicit massage businesses throughout Pennsylvania.
While the CSE Institute supports thorough investigations into organized criminal networks that profit from commercial sexual exploitation, we emphasize that any legal response must also consider the circumstances and potential victimization of individuals directly involved in selling sex. In cases like this, where women appear to have lived on-site and served dozens of male clients each day, there are significant indicators that they may have been exploited. These realities should be central to decisions around prosecution and punishment.
The CSE Institute encourages law enforcement to prioritize identifying potential trafficking indicators and to direct investigative resources toward those who perpetuate exploitation; namely, the sex buyers such as the 11 to 17 men who visited the CK Spa each day. When individuals who may be exploited are criminally charged while the sex buyers go unpunished, it can deter other victims from seeking help and reinforce a harmful cycle of criminalization.
If there were no demand for paid sex, illicit massage businesses like CK Spa would have no market to exploit. In fact, societies that have targeted sex buyers have seen the overall demand for paid sex decrease. Yet, despite speaking with multiple sex buyers who openly admitted to purchasing sex, law enforcement failed to charge them under 18 Pa.C.S. § 5902, the very statute designed to hold sex buyers accountable. The fact that the investigation spanned four years yet resulted in no apparent charges against the sex buyers demonstrates a failure to hold accountable the individuals fueling the sex trade, and ultimately, does little to facilitate its end.
Combatting commercial sexual exploitation requires a trauma-informed and nuanced approach that accounts for the complex power dynamics that often underpin participation in the sex trade. We urge the York County District Attorney’s Office and all agencies involved to use their discretion thoughtfully and focus enforcement efforts on all who facilitate exploitation through the commercial sex trade.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.