Another Massage Parlor Shut Down in Forsyth

CUMMING, GA -- Forsyth County's crackdown on illicit massage parlors continues.

The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office announced Sunday that another parlor has been closed after being found to be operating illegally.

The news comes less than two weeks after a sweep of massage parlors in the county led to at least five of them being shut down and citations being written for several others.

On Sunday, the sheriff's office announced that Image TLC Massage, which had opened recently on Buford Highway in Cumming, failed to obtain a massage parlor and spa permit as required by a county ordinance that went into effecdt January 1.

According to a Facebook post, when deputies showed up for a check of the business, an employee "attempted to run from the business, but was quickly found outside."

Inside, deputies found beds instead of massage tables in massage rooms, evidence of employees living inside the business and "other obvious signs of illicit activity."

Several citations were issued and the business was closed, the post said.

Forsyth deputies have continued to conduct compliance checks at massage parlors since the sweep earlier this month.

As a result of that sweep, 18 citations were issued to 10 massage parlors and five were "closed and not to reopen."

Forsyth County Sheriff Duane K. Piper worked with Forsyth County commissioners to craft the massage-parlor ordinance, which passed in November of last year.

Under the rules of the ordinance:

• Every massage parlor must be permitted by the sheriff's office
• A licensed massage therapist must be present at all times when the business is open
• Employees must be fully clothed and not wearing "inappropriate clothing"
• Massage parlors may only be open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
• Beds and mattresses are not allowed in the parlors
• Store front windows must not be blocked or covered
• Customers are required to enter and exit only through the front door