Women believed to be sex trafficked rescued amid probe of illicit Santa Rosa massage businesses - The Santa Rosa Press Democrat

[ADRIANA GUTIERREZ, MARISA ENDICOTT]

Santa Rosa police and community advocates rescued three women who are believed to be survivors of human trafficking last week as part of a broader investigation into local illicit massage parlors.

City code enforcement officials, who ensure that properties are built and maintained to Santa Rosa standards, and police were conducting surveillance and inspections when they encountered the women, none of whom were state-certified massage therapists, during one of four inspections Oct. 9.

Staff from Verity, Sonoma County’s rape crisis and counseling center, were present and offered each woman an advocate, temporary accommodations and flights out of state, according to Verity Executive Director Rebecca Fein.

These situations “come with a lot of fear and a sense of not being able to get out. Our people are there to help provide an immediate safe space for landing,” she said.

While most local massage businesses operate legally, residents near central Santa Rosa have voiced concern over massage businesses with darkened windows, locked doors, late hours, and reviews or ads on erotic massage websites.

The attention from community members followed by reporting from The Press Democrat pushed the city to take a closer look at operators and to strengthen the laws regulating the industry locally.

The business where the women were intercepted was ordered to shut down because of code violations. Police did not identify the business because the investigation is ongoing. They have yet to make any arrests.

A day before the Oct. 9 operation, law enforcement also conducted a surveillance operation of two suspected illicit massage businesses, recording the license plates of 12 patrons whom they are attempting to contact.

“Illicit massage businesses often operate under the radar, masking serious criminal activities, including human trafficking and exploitation,” Police Chief John Cregan said in a statement to The Press Democrat. “The Santa Rosa Police Department is committed to identifying and investigating these businesses for code violations and, more importantly, rescuing victims from these dangerous environments.”

As part of that, the department’s domestic violence sexual assault team eventually plans to recommend misdemeanor criminal complaints against business owners they find are advertising on commercial sex websites, police said.

The operations are the most recent step in the partnership launched earlier this year between code enforcement, the police department and Verity to root out illegal activity.

A series of visits in February to massage establishments with complaints turned up a number of city ordinance violations, some small and others more serious, at eight of them.Code enforcement gave each of the businesses opportunities to correct problems.

The department is limited to addressing what violates city code, while police are responsible for responding to illicit practices. Law enforcement has said they want to avoid criminalizing victims in these efforts.

Only one of the four businesses investigated by police last week was among the eight massage businesses cited in February.

Shutdowns due to code violations​

Investigations into the initial eight businesses are ongoing, according to code enforcement, and the “process can be very, very time consuming,” city spokesperson Katy Oceguera said. But, she added, “We have had one business successfully shut down. One case found only with minor violations was quickly resolved and closed, and others are still in various stages of the permitting and enforcement process.”

Code enforcement officials didn’t identify the shuttered business, but said city code violations resulted in a breach of its lease. That gave the property owner grounds to terminate its contract.

On Friday, The Press Democrat visited the massage parlors targeted by code enforcement’s operation and found two now appear to be closed. Calls to business owners listed in city records went to voicemail Tuesday morning.

Both have similar names — AAA — but are located in different parts of Santa Rosa. They previously advertised operating 12 or more hours per day, seven days a week.Both were also listed on an erotic massage review website.

Neither of the businesses, however, were part of the police actionlast week, and citations noted in public records related only to code violations.

One of the businesses, AAA Spa — also known as AAA Asian Spa in some records — in northwest Santa Rosa closed about four months ago, according to employees at a nearby business.

Photos taken during city site visits earlier this year at AAA Spa show a walled-off room, toothbrushes and bathing products, bottles of personal lubricants, women’s undergarments and a pair of underwear in the pocket of a massage technician coat.