Bill Aims To Close Loophole Exploited By Sex Traffickers

WOBURN, MA -- Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan oversees criminal prosecutions in a county that includes 54 cities and towns that range in demographics from gritty Lowell to affluent Lexington. But the majority of those towns have at least one thing in common: they have at least one business suspected of being a front for brothels that rely on human trafficking networks.

"We see this in all kinds of communities. It happens in plain sight, and it often seems like nobody is doing anything about that," she said.

In an interview with Patch Monday, Ryan outlined the difficulties in building cases against the massage parlors like the one in Florida where Patriots owner Robert K. Kraft and other men are accused of paying for sexual services. She also said a bill reintroduced to the state legislature would close a loophole in the state sex trafficking law passed in 2012.

"If there's any good piece that comes from all of this, it's that it is focusing attention on what we see all the time," Ryan said.

Loophole In State Law Is A "Dream For Traffickers"

Ryan said the 2012 sex trafficking law has given her office "more opportunities to focus on the issue." But people running illicit massage parlors have been able to exploit a loophole that lawmakers hope to correct with the bill that was re-filed in January. That bill would expand oversight to businesses that offer bodywork and reflexology as a way to circumvent the state licensing requirements for businesses that offer massage.

"The only type of business currently regulated are massage parlors -- there's no requirement for licensing if a place says its offering 'bodywork' or 'reflexology,' " she said.

Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), who authored the 2012 sex trafficking law, and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, reintroduced the bill to require licensing for such businesses. The state Senate has passed the bill several times, but it has repeatedly failed in the House, despite backing from Healey and Gov. Charlie Baker's administration.

Last week, Montigny told the Boston Herald the loophole is "a dream for traffickers."

"What we see now is even if we take a place out of business, it's pretty easy for the person to move on to the next town and reopen," Ryan said. "Registration and regulation would help us track that. The second piece is that it would allow us to go in and do inspections."

Prosecutors Target Traffickers

Last week, Patch reported that hundreds of businesses posing as bodywork studios have set up shop in Massachusetts communities. Many of them rely on women who were lured from China and other Asian countries with the promise of legitimate work, only to be forced into prostitution.

To find clients, the parlors advertise on sites with names like "Rub Maps," "Erotic Monkey" and "City X Guide." Federal authorities shut down one of the biggest advertising sites, Backpage.com, last April, but dozens of other sites have quickly stepped in to fill the void.

In some cases, court records show the women were forced to surrender their passports and told their families would be harmed if they tried to leave or refused to perform sexual services. They are often not allowed to leave the storefront where they work, sleeping on the same tables where they give massages and giving all the money they earn to the operators of the massage parlors.

But Ryan and other investigators say building cases against the business owners is difficult.

"They are difficult cases to prosecute, obviously, because women have to be willing and able to testify and that's difficult," she said. "Often, the women can be completely dependent on the people exploiting them, and English is often not their first language. What we're not looking to do is go in and arrest these women -- we're trying to get the people running the place, and that ends up being a longer-term investigation."

Previously On Patch:

• Kraft Case Could Raise Awareness Of Human Trafficking
• In Massachusetts, Strip Mall Brothels Flourish

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