A Wichita massage parlor shuts down after a prostitution arrest earlier this month. Two women were arrested Jan.
Arrest records show both women are charged with working without a massage license. One of them was also charged with prostitution. Wednesday, the owner of a Pilates studio next to the massage parlor discussed how her business suffered because of its neighbor.
Amie Ross says her business, Studio 54 Pilates, suffered for months as dozens of men went in and out of the massage parlor each day. She says she's relieved the massage parlor is closed and hopes the women involved get the help they need. In August, Ross says a big, red, hand-painted "Massage" sign was placed under the sign for her business. Ross says she knew something wasn't right about the business that moved in next door to her studio.
Concerned, she emailed an image of the ad to Wichita Mayor Jeff Longwell. Ross says within 24 hours of the massage parlor opening, police were involved, but it took five months to make an arrest. It was during this time, she says, her business suffered. But Ross says the hardest part was watching 20 to 30 men go through the doors of the massage parlor each day. She says men still show up and try to get inside the closed massage parlor, but knowing its doors are locked for good is comforting.
Ross says her business has already picked back up in just the few weeks since police shut down the massage parlor. The City of Wichita last year passed an ordinance requiring all massage therapists to be licensed.
