Arrests, Raids At 5 Massage Parlors As NJ Goes After Prostitution

Authorities have put massage parlors in their sights now that prosecutors have arrested five people from five New Jersey establishments – one of which was raided – within recent weeks.

In one case, the managers of four massage parlors in one New Jersey community were arrested and charged with offering clients sexual acts for cash in a school zone, according to authorities.

And in another case, police received numerous complaints from residents that prostitution was going on at the establishment. Police then raided the massage parlor, and arrested two people.

The busts are among a number of massage parlor arrests New Jersey authorities have made this year. About a month ago, a New York woman was arrested and charged with prostitution after locals complained about a "suspected brothel" operated out of a massage parlor in Franklin, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael Robertson announced. Read more here...

The arrests follow the release of a report claiming the state has at least 373 illicit massage parlors that possibly operate as fronts for sex and other forms of human trafficking. And these traffickers likely engage in prostitution and other illegal activities at the expense of human suffering.

The conclusion was made by Polaris, a non-profit group based in Washington, D.C. that tracked what it considers "modern-day slavery" in a 100-page report on sex and labor trafficking in illicit massage businesses.

Read more here: Possible Sex, Labor Trafficking At 373 NJ Massage Parlors: Report

Here is what happened within recent weeks:

In Westfield, four people were charged with third-degree promoting prostitution and promoting prostitution in a school zone, a fourth-degree offense, Monahan said. They were Qingxia Zhu, 28, of Westfield, Jing Liu, 53, of Linden, Xiaoman Zhang, 56, of Watchung, and Michelle X. Gao, 60, of Springfield.

Liu is additionally charged with second-degree money laundering, authorities said.

The investigation showed that Zhu, Liu, Zhang, and Gao were engaged in criminal conduct at Chan Spa on the 500 block of North Avenue East; Central Avenue Spa on the 700 block of Central Avenue; Natural Massage Therapy on the 400 block of Boulevard; and Sunny Spa on the 900 block of South Avenue West, respectively, authorities said.

Search warrants were executed at those four locations and a fifth location on the 100 block of West Stimpson Avenue in Linden on Sept. 26, resulting in the seizure of approximately $16,000 in cash and items of evidentiary value such as ledgers, receipts, phones, and computers, authorities say. Read more here...

In South River, police and detectives with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office raided a massage parlor in September after receiving numerous complaints from residents that prostitution was going on there, authorities said.

Police said they had received several complaints from the public about Golden Spa, located at 268 Main Street in South River, New Jersey. As a result of a two-month investigation, it was determined that employees offered sexual acts in exchange for money. The spa was raided at 5 p.m. on Sept. 5 and a search warrant was executed, prosecutors said.

Two employees, identified as Yuxiang Ji, 48, of Tuckerton, New Jersey and Adan Ji, 40, of South River, were placed under arrest. Ji was charged with promoting prostitution and engaging in prostitution. Adan Ji was charged with two counts of engaging in prostitution, authorities said. Read more here...