Illegal massage parlor raided by police still operating in Winston-Salem neighborhood. - Winston-Salem Journal

[massage]

Connor McNeely

An illegal massage parlor in the Hanestown neighborhood that was raided by Winston-Salem Police in September has reopened.


On Sept. 22, officers arrested a woman named Zuying Liu, 61, on a charge of solicitation of prostitution at the parlor, at 503 Thurston Street. An arrest warrant states that Liu "unlawfully and willfully did offer (a) sexual act" for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification and for money.


Statements like "I live in the store" and "I just live wherever I can have a job" were written on Liu's bond documents through use of an interpreter. Liu's official address is listed as Monterey Park, California, but her documents state that she had worked in Forsyth County for a little more than 7 months.


Seven women are facing prostitution charges in connection with massage parlors in the Triad, Gastonia, Union County, Charlotte and South Carol…


Eight months after Liu was arrested, the parlor is open and a woman answered the door and offered massage services to a Journal reporter.

People are also reading…​

On Wednesday afternoon, the same woman answered the door and told the Journal that the house was not a massage business.


Annie Sims, a spokesperson for Winston-Salem police, said that they had received tips regarding the parlor and that law enforcement is "actively looking into it."


"At this point, we don't have any further updates to provide," Sims wrote in an email.


The Hanestown neighborhood is off Stratford Road, behind the Hanes Towne Village Shopping Center and is a mix of residential and small businesses.


The parlor is across the street from other businesses, such as an accounting firm and a beauty salon.


A church is also nearby.


Area business owners and workers expressed concerns about the parlor.


When a Journal reporter approached a business near the parlor, a worker said that she thought the reporter was one of the parlor's customer. The woman, who asked not to be identified, said men have often approach the front and back doors of her business.


"It doesn't bring the best of people around," said the worker. "They come around at all kinds of funny hours. It's not good for the neighborhood."


Brian Miller, a deacon at Covenant of Grace ARP Church on Thurston Street, said members of the church had contacted the police before the arrests in September.


"As an individual member of the church I'm concerned about the impact on the neighborhood and disappointed that an enterprise of that sort could raise its head again," Miller said.


Directly across the street from the parlor is Babe Cave Beauty, a beauty salon. Liz Pedraza, who has worked at Babe for about 2 years, said the massage parlor's customers often mistake their business for the parlor.


"We're just for girls, we just do lashes facials and nails, we don't do massages," Pedraza said.


Pedraza said that salon workers often feel unsafe because of "creepy" guys who would walk into the business and ask for a massage appointment. The store's front door, which is usually open, must be closed and locked out of fear.


Pedraza said that one time a customer of the parlor walked into the salon and attempted to get into a room with her.


"Thank God I had a client with me," Pedraza said. "He walked in the door and tried to get in my room. If I was alone I don't know what would have happened."


Six other women were arrested in September 2023 on prostitution charges in connection with massage parlors in the Triad, Gastonia, Union County, Charlotte and South Carolina.


Investigators with the Forsyth County Drug Task Force said in a press release announcing the arrests that they had looked into complaints about the parlors operating in Winston-Salem residential neighborhoods.


Women who are trafficked into massage parlors are usually between 35 and 55 years old and are mostly immigrants from China and South Korea, according to the Polaris Project, a nonprofit non-governmental organization that works to combat North American sex and labor trafficking.


Pam Strickland, whose organization North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking helps survivors, told the News & Record in January that women employed in massage parlors are often looking for a way to support their families.


“They’re told that they will receive a visa, an education, and a license to be a massage therapist,” Strickland said. “They don’t want to bring dishonor to their family, which is a key reason why they don’t testify. They don’t want their family to know what is happening to them.”


Two of the women, Liu and Haiyan Chen, 53, of Mill Street in Winston-Salem, are scheduled to appear in court on July 5.


Both Liu and Chen are represented by a defense attorney named Harold Eustache. Eustache also represented two women who were arrested in Greensboro as part of the September 2023 investigation.


Eustache could not be reached for comment by the Journal.

0 Comments

Be the first to know​

Get local news delivered to your inbox!


Adblock test (Why?)