Investigators say that money typically goes to the house, and the women offer sexual favors to earn tips.įriday afternoon, one man after another approached the locked doors of the spas, then hurried away.Ī window inside Harmony's lobby is covered with stickers advertising that the business supports the Rhode Island F.O.P. They're open late seven days a week, with a $60 to $70 cash fee to start.
HARMONY SPA PAWTUCKET RHODE ISLAND WINDOWS
No pleas were entered on the felonies, as is standard at the District Court level.īoth massage parlors are in small strip malls, where the doors and front windows are covered by blinds and customers must be buzzed inside. All 13 are charged with working as unlicensed massage therapists, a misdemeanor.Īll pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charges and were released on their own recognizance. Four were charged with prostitution, a misdemeanor. Three of the women were accused of pandering and allowing the other women to engage in prostitution, which is a felony. That led to an investigation this week, and Thursday's raid by the department's Special Squad. OK, it’s a business.”Ī police spokesman said residents and local businesses had complained about the two spas and suspected prostitution. When asked what it was, he responded: “It’s a business.
“No one’s forced to work,” he added outside the courtroom. In general, police raids at massage parlors have found that the women are often living inside the businesses, sleeping on massage tables or cots in back rooms and eating meals off hot plates.ĭefense lawyer John Ruginski Jr. That raised the question: where are they living when they work at Harmony and Far East?
HARMONY SPA PAWTUCKET RHODE ISLAND CRACK
The women work at Harmony Spa and Far East Acupressure, which advertise on websites that promote prostitution - and are locked in a lawsuit against the city over an ordinance to crack down on massage parlors.ĭressed in sweatpants or pajamas, the women were arraigned before District Court Judge Christine Jabour on Friday afternoon, speaking through a Korean interpreter.Īll of the women told the judge that they live out of state - the Bayside and Flushing neighborhoods in New York City California Connecticut and Texas. PAWTUCKET - The Pawtucket police arrested 13 women in a prostitution raid at two of the most notorious massage parlors in the city Thursday.
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