Illicit massage businesses leave Billings 2 years after law - Billings Gazette

[massage]

A 2-year-old ordinance aimed at shuttering illicit establishments that use massage therapy and spa services as a front for commercial sex and human trafficking in Billings is at the center of a lawsuit in federal court.


City officials, however, say the new ordinance is working as designed and has been a success.


The city added regulations for the licensing of massage and spa businesses in 2021. The ordinance includes a requirement for owners to open their doors to city officials and law enforcement at any time during operating hours.

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One of several spas that used to operate 24-hours a day in the Billings area.

LARRY MAYER, Billings Gazette

That prompted three Billings massage therapists and a client to file a lawsuit against the city in U.S. District Court. They say the ordinance violates their rights under the Fourth Amendment that protect against search and seizure and want it overturned.


“That would be devastating for Billings, not only for victims of human trafficking but also for the families of sex buyers and the community,” said Penny Ronning, a founder of the Yellowstone County Human Trafficking Task Force.


RONNING

TAILYR IRVINE, Gazette staff

Ronning served on the City Council when the ordinance was approved. She said years of work went into the regulations, which were carefully crafted to deter establishments selling illicit sexual services and protect professional massage therapists who are state-licensed health care providers.


Billings had at least 15 businesses that were using massage as a front for commercial sex when the ordinance took effect three years ago, according to the FBI.


“It’s been very effective,” Ronning said. “For the most part, the illicit businesses appear to be gone.”


Shangri-La Spa & Sauna is one of a number of illicit massage parlors that have been shut down in Billings.

AMY LYNN NELSON, BILLINGS GAZETTE

Today, the city has 13 licensed massage businesses, in which multiple professionals provide services, and 66 solo practitioners.


At least four establishments shut down shortly after the ordinance took effect because they no longer met the requirements, said Joanne Rindahl, who oversees business licensing for the city. The following year, she said, another business was denied a license after its initial inspection.


King Spa pictured in 2019.

CASEY PAGE, Billings Gazette file photo

Billings now requires background checks for owners and verification that each therapist providing services is licensed by the state Board of Massage Therapy. City code enforcement officers also inspect each location before licensing a massage business.


After the initial site visit, Rindahl said, further inspections are driven by complaints.


“We don’t get a ton of complaints,” Billings Code Enforcement Manager Tina Hoeger said.


Of the 28 inspections officers have done since the changes took effect in June 2021, she said, three were due to complaints.


City Councilman Mike Boyett supported the ordinance in 2021, although he said he had concerns at the time about how it might work out. But now, he said, he doesn’t hear complaints about Billings massage businesses anymore.


Boyett


“I think the ordinance has been a success,” he said. “The system seems to be working.”


City Administrator Chris Kukulski said the goal of the regulations was to get rid of the illicit establishments without becoming burdensome for legitimate massage businesses.


City Administrator Chris Kukulski is photographed in his office at his office in downtown Billings in November 2023.

AMY LYNN NELSON, Billings Gazette

“My sense is the ordinance is working well,” he said.


But, not everyone is sold on its success. Deborah Kimmet, a massage therapist and executive director for the nonprofit Business League for Massage Therapy and Bodywork, said the city went too far with the ordinance.


“It quashes our privacy and that of our clients. And Montana being Montana, we really treasure our privacy,” she said.


The changes have also come with some unwelcome consequences for Billings massage therapists. Kimmet said they started getting far more frequent calls and texts from sex buyers, sometimes accompanied by uninvited photos of the male anatomy. And worse, she said, some therapists have been confronted by clients who expected them to perform illegal sex acts during a massage session.


“It can be traumatizing, especially for new therapists,” Kimmet, a former chairwoman for the state Board of Massage Therapy, said.


Now, Kimmet supports massage therapists Theresa Vondra, Donna Podolak and Lynda Larvie and client Adam Poulos, who are suing the city in hopes of getting the ordinance overturned. The judge is scheduled to hear arguments in the case at 9 a.m. on May 7 in U.S. District Court in Billings.

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