Police Shut Down Rockville Spa, Call It A 'House Of Prostitution'

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County Police have shut down a Rockville massage parlor they believe was a front for a prostitution house, and charged its owner with human trafficking.

Rose's Reflexology Spa owner Emily Zhang Lawrence, 47, was arrested and charged following a four-month police investigation that found dozens of male clients paying for illegal sexual acts, authorities said.

During the investigation, police stopped about 60 men as they were leaving the establishment — 18 of whom admitted to paying for sexual favors performed by employees. The employees, police said in court documents, are thought to be Chinese immigrants recruited from Flushing, New York — a nationally recognized human trafficking hub.

Per court documents, police also believed that Lawrence — who owned multiple homes in Montgomery County — was using one of them as a "harboring apartment" for the female employees. Using a GPS Tracker Search warrant on Lawrence's car, officers were able to confirm that she was shuttling the women back and forth from the apartment, which is located in Germantown.

The police investigation was turned over to officials at the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office, who later transferred it to the Frederick County State's Attorney's Office.

Patch has learned that a part-time contract employee with the Montgomery County State's Attorney's Office was involved in the case, creating a conflict of interest.

"A part-time contract employee, who is no longer with our office, was involved in the case and created a conflict of interest,"Montgomery SAO spokesman Ramon Korionoff wrote in an email to Patch. "We asked the Frederick County SAO to handle the matter and they were kind enough to undertake the investigation and prosecution of the matter."

Neither officials in Montgomery County nor Frederick County would comment on the part-time contract employee's role in the case.

Lawrence is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 30.