Couple, Massage Parlor Manager Plead Guilty to Sex Trafficking Charges: DA

NASSAU COUNTY, NY - A Queens couple and another Flushing woman who were arrested for their roles forcing women to perform sex acts on customers in Nassau County massage parlors, recently plead guilty to sex trafficking charges, according to the District Attorney's office.

Between May 2013 and January 2014, 49-year-old Zhaowei Yin; his wife, 47-year-old Shuwen Ai and 33-year-old Li Fei Leng, who managed the parlors, hired two women who responded to ads in Chinese-language newspapers to perform massages, the DA said.

However, the women were required to perform sexual services on male customers at Lucy’s Spa in West Hempstead and Panda Foot Spa in Franklin Square, the DA said. Both locations are now closed.

Investigators found that the women were often forced to sleep at the businesses, the DA said.

In addition, one woman was never paid for the time that she worked at the massage parlor and the another woman had her wages deducted for occasional transportation home after work and for sleeping at the parlor, even when she was forced to stay there, the DA said.

The trio threatened one of the women that if she failed to comply with their demands they would post a naked photograph of her on the Internet and in newspapers, the DA said.

They also threatened the undocumented woman that if she reported them to the police she would be deported, according to the DA.

When one of the women assaulted by a male customer, the trio forced her to continue to perform the services the customer requested, the DA said.

Both women had been arrested and charged during undercover operations by the Nassau County Police Department, but after further investigation, it was discovered that the women had been forced to perform sexual acts and had become the victims of sex and labor trafficking.

The charges against the women were dismissed and a wider investigation into their alleged traffickers was launched.

The couple plead guilty before Acting Supreme Court Justice Terence Murphy to two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of second degree promoting prostitution, the DA said.

The district attorney is recommending that the husband and wife, who are due back for sentencing on June 21, be sentenced to three to nine years in prison.

Fei Leng pleaded guilty to the same charges on Tuesday before Judge Murphy and is due back in court for sentencing on June 20, according to the DA.

All three waived their right to appeal and must now register as sex offenders, the DA said.

“The victims in this case were sexually exploited, psychologically abused and held against their wills,” District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “The defendants preyed on vulnerable women and, in one case, allowed a victim to be physically assaulted by a customer. We are working collaboratively with law enforcement in New York and beyond to break up these human trafficking rings and hold the perpetrators accountable for their crimes.”

NCDA photos (from L-R): Zhaowei Yin, Shuwen Ai and Li Fei Leng