Prostitution arrests at Edmond massage parlors spur legislation, stigmatize lawful massage - NonDoc

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Multiple massage parlors in Edmond have been caught in prostitution sting operations. The most recent arrests were made Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (NonDoc)



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When potential clients call into Margarita Jiang’s north Oklahoma City massage business, one uncomfortable question comes up more often than she would like: “Do you do happy endings?”

“It’s pretty frequent, even though we have a high reputation in the industry, especially in this area,” said Jiang, the owner of MaM Massage and Spa. “We just hang up. (…) It’s kind of awkward when hiring receptionists. I need to tell them how to respond in those type of situations when they are on the phone, because they are the first person to get in contact with the clients.”

Some property owners have even told Jiang they refuse to lease commercial space to “any massage concepts,” she said, due in large part to the perception that massage businesses might be thin veils for illegal sex work, a negative public image spurred by prostitution arrests at multiple massage businesses across the Oklahoma City metro area.

Repeated prostitution busts at local spas continue to feed into that negative perception, Jiang said. In Edmond, there were at least three prostitution-related arrests from August to November 2024 at massage parlors. The issue of illicit massage and sex trafficking has even become a campaign point for one of Edmond’s mayoral candidates, and the pattern is a driving force behind proposed legislation that would change how municipalities can regulate massage businesses within their borders.

While Jiang’s business focuses on massage therapy to treat chronic pain — something she experienced, which led her into the industry — that stigma has stymied Jiang’s effort to expand her business to new locations and can shrink the pool of potential employees.

“I have to explain myself, like, ‘Hey, we’re not the massage concept that you are thinking about. We do pain management, and so all of our therapies are licensed,'” Jiang said. “You find the difficulty that you have to explain yourself multiple times, not only to one person. (…) Business owners will also have difficulty finding people because of public perception. They’re thinking of massage as not a career that they want to get into because of the reputation.”

Currently, state authority to regulate the massage industry prevents municipal officials from addressing the illicit massage mess more proactively. Simultaneously, business owners like Jiang are trying to navigate the negative light repeated prostitution stings can cast on their industry.

Trafficking ‘red flags’ apparent in some Edmond busts​

An Edmond residence with massage signs displayed on its lawn in August 2024. While no arrests were made, the tenant left the property after the owners were informed of the advertisements. (Tom Robins)

On Nov. 8, two employees were arrested at Edmond’s Phoenix Massage Therapy on prostitution charges. While the cases are still ongoing and neither individual has been convicted, as of Feb. 26, the parlor remains closed and the business space is now for lease. The case marks only the latest of multiple such charges levied against local spa employees in recent years, which has led some to speculate about the parlors’ potential ties to human trafficking and a billion-dollar criminal enterprise across America.

Renewed attention was brought to Edmond’s illicit spas in August with a brazen, makeshift advertisement for “massage” outside a home on a heavily traveled city street. Constituents made former Ward 1 Councilman Tom Robins, now one of two remaining candidates for mayor, aware of a rental house in the 500 block of North Boulevard boasting a large sign on the front lawn that advertised “Massage” above a phone number with a New York City area code. A separate neon sign with the same message glowed from the front porch.

Robins said the tenant quickly left the home after property owners were made aware of the activity. No arrests punctuated the bizarre saga, but one fully documented case of illicit massage in Edmond emerged shortly afterward. On Aug. 21, police stung Home Spa Massage in the 150 block of East 33rd Street, where one employee was charged with engaging in prostitution. In Oklahoma City, another August prostitution arrest stemmed from a massage parlor operation, according to OKCPD.

Ella Zhang, who was not charged with any crimes during the EPD bust, has owned Home Spa Massage since 2023. She confirmed the employee’s criminal case is still ongoing. The employee maintains that she did not do anything wrong during the encounter, Zhang said.

In the EPD police report, investigators noted they found a box of condoms in a room that appeared to be a personal living quarters for the employee. Law enforcement officials said such an arrangement can be an indication that the location could be tied to sex trafficking.

“That’s usually a big red flag,” said Mark Woodward, the spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, which investigates human trafficking in the state. “When we’ve worked investigations or we get tipped off that there’s workers having to live on site or out back, especially multiple ones in not the best conditions, that’s absolutely something we put in our training on human trafficking.”

Zhang told NonDoc the living arrangement was merely practical, however.

“We do hard work, and we are open like from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. — that’s a long time,” Zhang said. “So our way is let them to stay in the store. When you get a client, you take the client, and it’s more like you work at home, because you live there. You can have the room where you feel relaxed, and you have your own bed. Basically, you stay there, and it feels more like a home, and when a client comes, you can work on the client. (…) It also can save money from not having to rent another place. I can understand the issue of human trafficking. They are thinking you control this person or that they work from morning to night or something, but it doesn’t work that way.”

Zhang said the employee told her the box of condoms was left by her boyfriend, whom Zhang said she had seen visit the store occasionally.

“When my employee was arrested during that time, I thought they were doing something else because [police] found the condoms. I was shocked and disappointed. I was thinking about that, and I still decided to bond her out from the jail,” Zhang said. “When I got her, I asked about the condoms. She told me it comes from her boyfriend. I know her boyfriend had took her to a dinner from my store (…) I still cannot be sure she didn’t do anything, but what she told me is, she didn’t do anything wrong, and she was very, very angry.”

Demand for commercial sex under the guise of massage therapy in the metro extends beyond traditional storefronts. On Oct. 16, Edmond police received a “suspicious subject” call and arrested Jonathan Clark, who said he was visiting the residence of a woman he met online. Clark claimed he had paid in bitcoin to receive a massage and subsequent sex acts “and thought he had gotten scammed,” according to the police report.

Before the Nov. 8 arrests, at least seven sting operations at Edmond massage parlors had resulted in prostitution charges since 2018. One parlor, now called Oasis Massage Spa on East 4th Street, was found to provide sex acts for clients four times over that period. It still exists as a massage business.

Throughout 2023 and 2024, according to public records, members of the Edmond City Council received numerous emails from residents concerned about the city’s plethora of local massage businesses, with many specifically noting the East 4th Street location. Many said they found the businesses openly advertising sex work on seedy websites.

“It’s still in operation. It continues to change names and ownerships,” said Edmond Police Department public information specialist Emily Ward. “It remains on our list of parlors that we are investigating. Each case involves the arrest of different individuals. It is usually after the arrests that the ownership changes.”

NonDoc attempted to contact the owner of Oasis Massage Spa prior to the publication of this article. An employee initially indicated they would relay the request for comment to the owner, but when contacted again the next day, an employee said the owner was out of state and that they did not know when the owner would return.

An EPD report on a Sept. 7, 2023, sting operation at the East 4th Street location indicated the parlor had installed overt security measures to monitor who was entering the business.

“Upon entering the building, I noticed something very unusual compared to all of the other massage parlors I had previously visited,” the report read. “There was a small lobby and a wall with a heavily fortified metal door, almost like a burglar barred metal door that led from the lobby deeper into the parlor. Above the door was a large security camera and sign that said ‘ring the bell.’”

In multiple Edmond police reports, officers asked if suspects were being forced to perform sex acts. No suspects in the reports NonDoc reviewed said they were coerced.

Kevin Metcalf, director of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office Human Trafficking Response Unit, said denials of coercion are common, even if the person interviewed is actually working against their will. During his 13-year stint as a prosecutor, Metcalf said human trafficking cases were among the most difficult for which to secure convictions. Much of that difficulty, and a significant barrier to uncovering enough information to disrupt trafficking rings, stems from trauma bonding between trafficking victims and their traffickers.

“These people are coached. They’re scared, they’re manipulated. [Traffickers] can use drugs as a control mechanism. There’s a lot that has been developed in how to control these victims over the years, and it’s hard to expect them to be open, honest and truthful with law enforcement, whom they don’t trust for a lot of reasons — a lot of good reasons,” Metcalf said. “Most often it’s not the gang member that you just pulled over that’s driving the car, that has the gun and the drugs — it’s the girl that’s in there. And who do you think gets caught or gets charged?”

Oklahoma County has recorded 17 human trafficking convictions since Jan. 1, 2021, according to Brook Arbeitman, spokeswoman for Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Behenna. None of those convictions was related to Edmond massage businesses, but Metcalf said a lack of convictions does not mean an absence of trafficking.

“Most departments are struggling with prosecution. (…) I understand that as a prosecutor for 13 years, where I’ve got the ability to hammer this guy, send him down for 90 years on drugs and gun charges, but the bargaining chip is, ‘Hey, get rid of that human trafficking charge and we’ll plea,’” Metcalf said. “And you’ve got 200 other cases sitting there, you know this guy’s not getting out. That’s another reason our statistics [on trafficking convictions] are terrible.”

The issue led Robins to host a “community conversation” event Sept. 30, attended by state legislators and law enforcement officials, to explore what municipalities can do to curb human trafficking and the lucrative illicit massage business. Without changes to state statute, however, city governments have few tools at their disposal.

Robins: City seeks zoning solutions, license verification rights​

Candidate Tom Robins answers a question during the Edmond Mayoral Matchup hosted by NonDoc and News 9 at the University of Central Oklahoma on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Part of Robins’ campaign has been focused on closing illicit massage parlors in Edmond. (Arriana Charqueño / The Vista)

When entering Edmond from the south, drivers can find at least 17 businesses on Broadway and adjoining roads that Google Maps lists as providing massages, all before reaching Edmond Road. Robins acknowledged Edmond is home to many safe, properly practicing spas that should not be unnecessarily burdened by municipal action.

While a city should avoid setting requirements to become a licensed masseuse, Robins said, it should have primacy over zoning standards, license verification and operating hours to discourage illegal activity. Robins has made the issue a component of his mayoral campaign, and he commented on illicit massage parlors at NonDoc’s Jan. 22 debate.

“A lot of people sort of question why [erotic massage] exists in Edmond, and so (we) want to figure out what we as a city can do to make sure that it’s safe, that you know who’s performing massages, that they’re licensed, and that there’s just basic zoning in there that provides for a safe, clean area that protects and promotes legitimate businesses,” Robins said. “Things like lighting, parking, hours of operation. (…) Unfortunately, a lot of these areas, you go into them, the people that are there performing massages aren’t licensed. You can’t check them. They’re not publicly posted. So, we just want to give ourselves an opportunity to ensure that those people that are there have gone through that licensing.”

Zhang, who owns Home Spa Massage, said she believes Edmond’s over-saturation of massage businesses could be a reason some parlors might start offering sex acts to customers. For business owners or even individual employees, Zhang said, the prospect of more income through “extras” can encourage illegal activity.

“This is not a big town. We don’t have much population, but we have a lot of massage businesses,” Zhang said. “And basically, no matter if you are legal or illegal, basically, they know the illegal person can earn much more than us and give us a harder time. We need to do more effort to fix it, I hope.”

Like Jiang, Zhang said her business also receives phone calls from seedier potential clients asking if the parlor offers “happy endings.” If such a client is spurned on the phone, or turned down in-person if they begin acting inappropriately during a session, Zhang said they often leave negative reviews for the parlor online. The hyper-sexualization of massage, she said, is a widespread issue for business owners and therapists.

“The illegal spas, they’ve almost made normal clients not normal anymore,” Zhang said.

Refusing to play into the sexualization of the industry can sometimes hurt business. Zhang said during an especially slow period for her spa, she was searching for ways to draw more clients. Having already purchased ads on Google and Yelp that she did not find to be as effective as she expected, Zhang was unsure where to turn next. Zhang said she was introduced to an advertising agent by another local massage therapist. The agent offered to expand the store’s advertising to other websites, but Zhang noticed a wide range for how businesses were advertised, with some being overtly sexual.

“If they want to sell massage, they’ll post [the advertisement] but all of the words are about massage,” Zhang told NonDoc. “If they want to do something more, the photos will be more sexual. (…) I found the ad was not in, like, a normal website, but somewhere else. I know that I should not have bought the ad there, but it felt almost like I did not have a choice. There is so much competition, so many stores near you, you basically have to fight them.”

Zhang said the ad initially did not attract business. When the advertising agent later recommended changing the accompanying photo to display a conventionally attractive woman, Zhang said there was an initial uptick in clients, though she said her advertisement was never excessively sexualized or focused on anything other than massage.

Regulatory authority for massage businesses in Oklahoma rests with the Oklahoma Board of Cosmetology and Barbering. As a result, Robins said cities lack the legal right to verify licensing independently and have been left “toothless” to combat the issue.

Under Senate Bill 644, proposed this session by Sen. Kristen Thompson (R-Edmond), the 2021 Massage Therapy Act would be amended such that the law does not “affect the regulations of a city, county, or a political subdivision [in Oklahoma] relating to zoning or licensing requirements” for businesses offering massage therapy, allowing cities to have more regulatory power. Thompson was present at Robins’ Sept. 30 event on illicit massage parlors.

“[Stopping illicit massage] matters to people in Edmond, and I work for the people of Edmond, so I’m going to work on this legislation,” Thompson told NonDoc. The bill is on the agenda for this morning’s 9:30 a.m. meeting of the Senate Business and Insurance Committee.

If passed by the full Legislature and signed by the governor, SB 644 would bring Oklahoma municipalities’ regulatory power closer in line with cities in other states. Local governments in Montana are able to issue their own licenses to massage or spa facilities, in addition to state requirements. Billings, a Montana municipality roughly twice the size of Edmond, enacted a 2021 ordinance outlining requirements for operating massage parlors in city limits.

Included in Billings’ ordinance are prohibitions on client nudity and using the business as a home. It also requires parlors to display their licenses, maintain a current list of employees and operate only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. If there are windows near the parlor’s entrance, they must contain “a sufficient portion of clear glass that is not painted over, darkened, or blocked by any cloth or obstruction,” a stipulation which several parlors EPD has busted would immediately run afoul of.

Metcalf said giving municipalities tools to negate trafficking risks within city limits could be a boon to law enforcement and state agencies that are stretched thin. Metcalf’s unit was established at the Attorney General’s Office in 2022 by House Bill 4210 to create a database of known victims and traffickers, develop trainings for local and state agencies and craft public messaging to increase awareness of sex and labor trafficking.

Immediate local solutions include zoning changes to make massage businesses and who is entering more visible, Metcalf said.

“Some of the ways we can attack this problem are by city ordinances, like with parking,” Metcalf said. “In the U.S., law enforcement — pretty much across the board — is overwhelmed with calls, with work, with things they have to do. They are understaffed, under-resourced, under-supported and under-trained. This is just one more thing that they have to try to juggle and fit in. Unfortunately, this is one of those things that takes a bit more expertise and a bit more experience.”

Allowing city employees to verify licensing could stop those parlors operating without licenses, but Woodward said even licensed businesses have been found to offer sex services.

“It’s kind of like with marijuana farms. Some of them, absolutely, the first thing the criminals do is get a license and try to look legitimate on paper. But once in a while, we will have a farm that’s growing marijuana, and they never even bothered to apply,” Woodward said. “We’ve done investigations where there’s a massage parlor in a strip mall in Oklahoma City, and it’s very clear from the public view, and some of those do get a license, but yet, late at night, they’re offering more than their massages.”

Jiang, the longtime proprietor of MaM Massage and Spa in north OKC, said until changes are made to allow the city more regulatory power, consumers are the first line of defense against illicit massage businesses. Fully blacked-out or obscured lobby areas represent an immediate red flag that should be noted, she said. Customers should also make a habit of asking to see their masseuse’s license.

“That’s the first thing they have to ask for that particular therapist. You want to see if their license matches their name,” Jiang said. “If you see anything inappropriate, please report it, so in that way, that’s really kind of strengthening this industry’s safety.”

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High profit, ‘very low’ risk drive illicit massage​

While city officials seek to root out Edmond’s illicit parlors, perhaps the most difficult issue to address is the demand for such businesses, which allows them to survive. The Human Trafficking Institute notes the “inexhaustible” demand for sex work in massage parlors stems partially from a customer base that “often [faces] limited consequences for purchasing illicit sex.” HTI suggests harsher penalties for soliciting commercial sex and additional law enforcement focus on arresting those buying sex.

Profits from erotic massage parlors are so significant, and illegal activity so easily concealed, that Metcalf said there is little fear among those operating such businesses, even with increased police awareness. Many of the spas in Edmond blatantly use scantily clad women in their online advertising. (In Oklahoma City, one parlor’s sign has the word “Massage” underlined with a suggestive image.)

“If we’re just talking about the illicit massage business, it is a very profitable, highly profitable business. You’re looking at annual revenues from $277,000 to $1.2 million, if I remember correctly, and that was from a few years ago,” Metcalf said. “So these are very profitable, and quite honestly, the risk is very low.”

In general, victims’ hesitance to separate from their traffickers is often a survival concern, Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson said. Some trafficking victims from abroad use whatever money they earn in the United States to support family members at home. Fear of losing their income and shelter if their traffickers are prosecuted can leave victims trapped and uncertain about where they would go in an unfamiliar country, how they could afford to live and, potentially, the safety of their relatives.

“These people are in that cycle and know, ‘I have a family back where I come from, and if I don’t listen (…) they can go do harm to my family,’” Johnson said.

Even in instances where victims may voluntarily participate in prostitution at first, Woodward said, the arrangement can become human trafficking if another person comes to control their transportation, documentation status in the U.S., daily schedule and housing.

“Because of a fear of being deported or a need for money, oftentimes they don’t complain,” Woodward said.

Asian immigrants being exploited or trafficked for sex work has also fed into harmful stereotypes of Asian business owners, Jiang said, especially in the massage industry.

“When you introduce yourself, where you come from, they always have the concept that you are doing something bad,” Jiang said. “I am sad in the sense that, it happens in the Asian community, and then people are not following the rules or following the laws, and it really has a big impact on business owners.”

Sarah Samples, training and outreach manager for the Human Trafficking Response Unit, said nonprofit shelters like Oklahoma City’s Dragonfly Home exist as options for those who manage to escape sex trafficking. Such shelters provide transitional housing and security that can help trafficking victims feel they have a choice outside of returning to their traffickers, she said.

“One of the main things is treating them as victims and not like a defendant,” Samples said. “[Shelters for victims] are a sort of a one-stop shop. Those advocates there are trying to help them get out on their own, they’re trying to help them find a job, help them work through the process, counseling, help them work with visas, things like that.”

The City of Edmond is taking early steps to reach victims of sex and labor trafficking as well. At an Oct. 14 Edmond City Council meeting, OBNDD agent Craig Williams gave a presentation on the agency’s “You Are Not Alone” campaign.

Williams said trafficking victims are typically monitored heavily throughout the day, with bathroom visits as one of their only reprieves. Part of the campaign’s goal is to place informational posters in public restrooms across the city containing contact information for the state human trafficking hotline and other law enforcement resources.

“It’s all about giving an opportunity to reach out and a chance to break that cycle,” Williams said.

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  Blake Douglas​

  
  Blake Douglas is a staff reporter who leads NonDoc's Edmond Civic Reporting Project. Blake graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2022 and completed an internship with NonDoc in 2019. A Tulsa native, Blake previously reported in Tulsa; Hilton Head Island, South Carolina; and Charlotte, North Carolina.
  

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