On May 7, law enforcement served a search warrant on Lucy Spa in Millcreek Township on suspicions that it had been operating as an illicit massage parlor. Law enforcement arrested Hui Hong, 55, and charged her with four counts, including dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity, promoting prostitution, and living off prostitutes. Hong posted bail on May 11, and her preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 2, 2026.
According to investigators, Hong and another woman were present at Lucy Spa when law enforcement executed the search warrant on May 7. During the search, investigators also found condoms, more than $22,000 in cash, a point-of-sale machine, and a business certificate in Hong’s name. The building’s landlord also identified Hong as the tenant who paid the monthly rent for Lucy Spa. Hong’s address is also listed as Lucy Spa.
The Lucy Spa raid is the latest in a series of investigations conducted over the past 11 months on illicit massage parlors in Erie County. According to the affidavit, authorities have been in contact with cooperating sources since 2025 regarding “Asian owned massage parlors” operating in Erie County, and investigators have interviewed seven individuals since October who admitted to paying for sex acts at Lucy Spa. Law enforcement also alleges that Lucy Spa posted advertisements for “sexy and skillful Asian females who know how to please men” and “hot and sexy body… the experience of a lifetime” on a website called “Skip the Games.”
Illicit massage parlors are common throughout Pennsylvania and provide a legal facade for commercial sexual exploitation. The victims trafficked in illicit massage businesses are often immigrants from China. They are promised work opportunities and a better quality of life but are then trapped in a cycle of cultural manipulation, fraud, and coercion. The complex vulnerabilities associated with race, ethnicity, immigration, and class often prevent victims of exploitation from immediately self-identifying as trafficking victims to law enforcement or service providers.
Based on the landlord’s identification of Hong as the tenant for Lucy Spa and business certificate in her name, it appears that Hong owned and operated this illicit massage business and was not herself victimized. This is an important point, as the line between victim and offender is often blurred in these situations and requires careful investigation into the nuances of an individual’s potential victimization to determine whether to pursue criminal charges. Victim-offender overlap refers to the issue of victims being forced or coerced by their trafficker into recruiting or managing other victims. This overlap is rooted in coercion, survival strategies, and trauma, not voluntary criminality. It is important for law enforcement to understand the complexities of victim-offender overlap and the broader issue of forced criminality because criminalization perpetuates harm and can act as a barrier to a victim’s recovery.
The CSE Institute encourages Erie County law enforcement to continue conducting prudent investigation into the women found at illicit massage parlors during raids to ensure they are not victims of commercial sexual exploitation. We reiterate that victims should never be charged for offenses committed during, or as a direct result, or their exploitation.
Additionally, while the CSE Institute recognizes the value of interviews with cooperating sources in these cases, we hope Erie County law enforcement will hold the patrons buying sex at these illicit massage parlors accountable for their central role in perpetuating commercial sexual exploitation. The CSE Institute advocates for the Equality Model, which comprises the following four pillars: (1) decriminalization of people in prostitution, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators, (3) public education, and (4) funded, comprehensive exit services for victims. A key tenet of the Equality Model is the criminalization of sex buyers because the sex trade relies on supply and demand, so prostitution would not occur with sex buyers. Thus, to target the root of commercial sexual exploitation, the CSE Institute encourages law enforcement to use their resources and efforts to target sex buyers rather than those being exploited in prostitution.
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 Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.