On November 13, following a police raid in Greensburg, two women were arrested and charged with Promoting Prostitution at two massage parlors. The Greensburg police and the Pennsylvania State police coordinated a raid of four massage parlors, two “Mu’s Asian Massage” locations in Greensburg and Latrobe, and “Ruiquan Foot Spa,” and “Li’s Massage” in Greensburg.
State police had been investigating the two “Mu’s Asian Massage” locations for the past couple of months following reports from patrons that had been offered sexual services in exchange for money. State Trooper Steve Liami stated that when patrons would go to the massage parlors, the person giving the massage would allegedly offer a sexual act in exchange for money during the course of the massage. The Greensburg police and the Pennsylvania State police utilized undercover officers in their investigation of the massage parlors.
On November 13, officers jointly executed a search warrant at the massage parlors. During the raid, the police seized cash, records, and banking information. At this time, the massage parlors all remain open and operational. The two women arrested were denied bond, and one of them faces deportation.
Along with the two women charged with promoting prostitution, several women were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on deportation orders.
Greensburg Police Chief Charles Irvin stated that “this cooperative effort demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting vulnerable individuals and ensuring that those who exploit them are held accountable.” Trooper Liami stated that “it’s more about trying to find out if this was individuals that were choosing to do this, if it was part of a broader scale of operation” At this time, no sex buyers have been arrested.
Illicit massage businesses are common throughout Pennsylvania and provide a legal facade for commercial sexual exploitation. The women who are trafficked in illicit massage businesses are typically immigrants from China or South Korea. 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.
The CSE Institute is disappointed by the decision of the Greensburg police and the Pennsylvania State police to arrest women in systems of prostitution, especially considering that Chief Irvin claims the raids of the massage parlors were to protect vulnerable individuals from exploitation. Criminalizing women in prostitution while claiming the goal is to protect people from exploitation conveniently ignores the reality of sex trafficking and the vulnerabilities of survivors. Moreover, the fact that the massage businesses currently remain open and operational allows for continued exploitation in these locations, while the only people facing consequences are potential victims, not the sex buyers.
Instead of arresting persons in prostitution, the CSE Institute encourages law enforcement to arrest the traffickers and investigate the sex buyers who were soliciting sexual services from these illicit massage parlors. Arresting persons in prostitution does nothing to eradicate the sex trade as it is the traffickers and buyers who perpetuate sexual exploitation and keep the commercial sex trade alive.
The CSE Institute supports the Equality Model to combat commercial sexual exploitation. The Equality Model focuses on criminalizing buyers of sex acts while decriminalizing individuals who are bought and sold for sex acts. The Equality Model includes four key tenets: (1) decriminalization of the prostituted person, (2) criminalization of sex buyers and facilitators with a commitment to treating buying sex as a serious crime, (3) a public education campaign about the inherent harms of prostitution, and (4) funded, robust, holistic exit services for victims of commercial sexual exploitation. To combat commercial sexual exploitation, the Equality Model focuses on decriminalizing the prostituted individual and targets the sex buyers. By decriminalizing the prostituted individual, the Equality Model recognizes that prostituted individuals are victims of sexual exploitation and not criminals. By criminalizing the sex buyers, the market for buying sex is significantly reduced, which assists in the overall goal of terminating sexual exploitation.
While the CSE Institute commends the Greensburg police and the Pennsylvania State police for their investigations into these massage businesses, we are disappointed in their decision to arrest the two women. Combatting commercial sexual exploitation requires holding sex buyers accountable, identifying victims, and providing them with support. We hope that law enforcement will use their power to do justice for victims, rather than perpetuate their victimization.
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.