North Andover Spa Employee Facing Prostitution Charges

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — North Andover Police arrested a woman Wednesday at a North Andover spa that was mentioned in a February Patch report on strip mall brothels. Working with the FBI Lowell Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, police arrested Li Zhou, 50, of Quincy, at Natural Wellness Center on Chickering Road. She was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence District Court on a charge of solicitation.

Acting on a tip, an undercover office arranged to have a massage at the spa, which advertises a variety of different wellness services. When the officer was offered sexual services for a fee, backup officers were called in to arrest Zhou, according to Wicked Local North Andover, which first reported this story.

After Patriots owner Robert Kraft was arrested and accused of purchasing sexual services at a Florida day spa in February, Patch reported on the prevalence of similar spas advertising sex for a fee in Massachusetts. The Natural Wellness Center, which is across the street from the North Andover Middle School and an elementary school, was one of the spas mentioned in the report.

Related Stories:

• In Massachusetts, Strip Mall Brothels Flourish
• Kraft Case Could Raise Awareness Of Human TraffickingKraft Case Could Raise Awareness Of Human Trafficking
• Bill Aims To Close Loophole Exploited By Sex Traffickers

For more on this story, see Wicked Local North Andover.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).