Court documents break down case against Asian massage parlors in Springfield - Springfield...

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Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley said it's believed women from China or east Asia were held against their will at these businesses as part of one large trafficking ring. Giacomo Bologna

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Peace Massage at 3029 E. Sunshine St. is one of more than a dozen Asian massage parlors in Greene County raided as part of a sex trafficking probe on Thursday.(Photo: Andrew Jansen/News-Leader)Buy Photo


Investigators say they spent nearly three years building a case against several Asian massage parlors in Springfield they believe were part of a sex-trafficking ring.

Court documents say that during those three years state troopers and local detectives trawled online sites for salacious advertisements, interviewed victims, tailed suspects and conducted stakeouts before raiding more than a dozen massage parlors on the afternoon of July 20.

Those details are described in a search warrant that was granted the day before the raids and which was recently made public.

According to the warrant, the Missouri State Highway Patrol began their investigation at Palm Spa on South Glenstone Avenue in September 2014.

Nearby business owners told troopers that only men visited the massage parlor and that the spa only advertised on Backpage.com.

The search warrant said the postings on Backpage.com advertised plenty of room for truck parking and included images of young, attractive Asian females.

Early on in their surveillance, troopers allegedly saw men parking their cars a significant distance away from the massage parlor before walking inside.

A month later, in October 2014, the highway patrol identified three people of Chinese descent who were operating the massage parlor, the warrant said.

According to the warrant, before coming to Springfield the trio was involved in numerous other massage parlors in Nebraska and Iowa. Those massage parlors are currently being investigated for human trafficking and prostitution, the warrant said.

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One of three, WenJuan Li, was also criminally convicted of engaging in prostitution in Nevada in 2008 and of keeping a place of prostitution in Illinois in 2011.

Between 2014 and 2015, investigators allegedly found that the three people were linked to five other Asian massage parlors in the area — four in Springfield and one in Joplin.

"These businesses did not have a website, or a social media presence," the warrant said. "Investigators also began to realize it was becoming very difficult to keep up with the number and locations of these Asian massages(sic) businesses as they were springing up very quickly in Springfield, Joplin and Branson, Missouri."

In March 2016, the warrant said, investigators began doing surveillance on a house on the 2400 block of South Fort Avenue, the home of the three people targeted in the investigation.

Troopers allegedly witnessed Asian women being transported from the home to Asian massage parlors. Investigators twice stopped cars leaving the house and both times the investigators were told that the car was going to Walmart and the Asian women inside were here on vacation, the warrant said.

However, the warrant said the cars were driven to massage parlors instead where the women entered the business and the "OPEN" sign was flicked on.


According to the warrant, one of the three operators of the massage parlors was tailed as she drove to a Sam's Club. She allegedly bought large amounts of bottled water and paper towels, which she then took to numerous Asian massage parlors in Springfield.

At around this time, another one of the three operators would leave southwest Missouri for days — sometimes weeks — to establish and open more businesses in other states, the warrant said.

So far, authorities have announced misdemeanor charges against nine people in connection with the alleged sex-trafficking ring, but none of the three people operating Palm Spa appear to have been charged as of Tuesday evening.

In March and April, troopers investigated two women who worked at the massage parlors. According to the warrant, the women said they were forced to live inside a massage parlor on South Stewart Avenue.

Neither woman would respond when asked if she was forced to perform sexual acts at work, the warrant said.

As investigators looked into the businesses, the warrant said they found that many did not have the necessary state license to operate a massage business and that many employees did not have a massage therapist license.

The business often moved locations and changed names throughout the investigation, the warrant said.

According to the warrant, troopers staked out these businesses and conducted traffic stops on patrons leaving them. The patrons allegedly told troopers they found the massage parlors on Backpage.com and that they expected a massage that included some sexual gratification.

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After two years of intense scrutiny from the U.S. Senate and elsewhere, online ad-posting site Backpage.com announced that it is shuttering its adult services section, which was repeatedly accused by critics of facilitating child prostitution and human trafficking. USA TODAY


The warrant said some individuals expressed disappointment that they did not receive any sexual gratification while others said they did receive a "hand job."

Investigators also found eight massage parlors in Springfield were listed on Rubmaps.com, a website that has information on and reviews of spas that offer erotic massages.

A significant break in the investigation appears to have come in May 2017 when a man spoke to authorities with the understanding that he would not be prosecuted, the warrant said.

The man allegedly told troopers that he had visited five to seven different Asian massage parlors in Springfield for a total of 20 to 30 visits. The warrant said he paid about $60 an hour at the businesses and received a massage that often ended with a "hand job."

As part of the application for a search warrant, investigators included advertisements from Backpage.com and Craigslist.com, which said things like:

• "She Treats You Right From Tension Filled Start to Smiling Finish,"
• "News Sexy Girls Just Arrived," and
• "We have new young girls."

The warrant also includes an affidavit from a member of the Springfield Police Department's Special Investigations Unit.

According to the warrant, Springfield police began conducting surveillance on a massage parlor on East Sunshine Street in June.

A customer allegedly told police he was instructed to masturbate while being given a massage.

"The masseuse provided (the customer) with oils and motioned with her hands that he could pleasure himself," the warrant said.

The man allegedly said he received a similar massage from the same woman at an Asian spa on East Battlefield Road just a few weeks prior.

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