The investigation of Sunlight Asian Massage included extensive surveillance, a review of bank records and two undercover cops who paid for "sexual acts. It was a red-letter case, but the truth is that long-term criminal investigations have not been fully effective at keeping illicit massage parlors out of Minnesota communities. Close one sex parlor and, police say, the owner will often reopen elsewhere under a different name. Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Hennepin, Ramsey and Anoka counties said they don't keep statistics on massage business prosecutions or arrests.
But in the last few years, the difficulty of dispelling massage parlor prostitution through traditional police methods has prompted some cities to experiment with a new enforcement approach. Distinguishing a front for prostitution from a legitimate massage therapy business is no great analytic feat, said Joy Friedman, the outreach director at Breaking Free , a St.
Paul non-profit that helps women leave sex trafficking. She said massage parlors are often guarded by muscular bouncers peering from behind blackened windows. The parlors aren't shy about advertising in classified ads and on sites like Backpage.
And they're known to shamelessly promote sexual services, like "happy endings," on printed price lists. But as a branch of sex trafficking, massage parlors present a unique challenge for law enforcement.
Police say investigations are costly, resource-intensive and time-consuming. And it's difficult to link business owners to the prostitution taking place under their roof. As a result, experts say conventional crackdowns don't typically happen unless communities complain. Bruce Folkens, who leads the Minneapolis Police Department division responsible for sex crimes.
