Hesperia Council denies business license appeal for massage parlor deemed ‘likely a house of prostitution’ - Taft Midway Driller

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HESPERIA — On Tuesday, the City Council voted 5-0 to uphold the revocation of the business license for Magic Hands Massage, “likely a house of prostitution,” according to a city staff report released earlier this month.

With City Administrative Analyst Tina Bulgarelli and Senior Code Enforcement Officer Ernesto Montes present, the Council reviewed an appeal from Magic Hands Massage owner Keith Roberts.

Bird confirmed that the repeal of the massage parlor’s business license stemmed from massage therapists allegedly not having the required state license to operate.

Massage therapists are required to maintain a California Massage Therapy Council (CMTC) certificate. Those considered as contractors and not employees of the facility must also have their own business license to legally operate in the city, Bulgarelli said.

A man who identified himself as an attorney representing Roberts and Magic Hands refuted the findings of a code enforcement officer by saying massage therapists on site did have the required license to operate. He also said the decision to revoke the business license by the Council was “too harsh of a penalty.”

Code Enforcement inspected the massage parlor on Mariposa Road near Oakwood Avenue on Jan. 14, 17 and 27, and found multiple violations, including employees allegedly not having CMTC certificates or personal business licenses, a staff report states.

During the Jan. 17 code enforcement visit, the business was open and one female presented a CMTC certificate to the officer, “however it was and is suspended” by the agency as of Tuesday, Bulgarelli said.

During the visits, code enforcement observed Magic Hands employees in revealing outfits, a male customer who ran and hid and a woman who repeatedly asked an officer out for lunch or coffee while calling the officer “honey,” according to the report.

Based on these observations, staff suspects that Magic Hands employees were “likely providing sexual acts,” the report states.

In a written appeal dated Feb. 10, Roberts said “no staff members were providing massage service” during the inspections on Jan. 14 and 17. City staff said they believed this to be true “in a fashion.”

During his first two visits, Montes was quoted the price of $40 an hour for a massage, he told the Council.

Holland said his motion to uphold the revocation of the business license was based on the business owner making “no attempt” to correct the violations in a “timely manner” after three visits from code enforcement.

Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227, or by email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.