Police: Greenwood massage parlor busted for prostitution not connected to Indy raids
GREENWOOD, Ind (WISH) — Greenwood Police said a recent prostitution arrest at a massage parlor is not connected to several raids that happened all over Indianapolis and surrounding areas on Tuesday. After an undercover operation on Monday, police arrested the owner of Golden Spa in Greenwood 54-year old Changli Su.
It’s the second prostitution bust at Golden Spa. The first one happened in August of 2015. Since then, police said they have changed owners, received new permits to operate but kept the same name and apparently the same business model, something that isn’t sitting well with neighboring businesses.
Curtains cover the windows. Nobody knew for sure what was happening inside. But neighbor Neil Purcell had his guesses. A revolving door of men, he said, seemed to be the norm at Golden Spa.
“There was one guy in particular that I noticed that was here all the time. It seemed like he was spending a lot of time in this location,” said Purcell.
Purcell’s business, Air Feet, is in the same shopping plaza as Golden Spa, which was supposedly a foot massage business.
“It seemed it was fairly discreet, the way that they functioned. But, at the same time, we just don’t need to have that along side of us. Especially, even the word foot becomes a relative thing, we don’t need to have that by us, no,” he said.
Greenwood Assistant Police Chief Matt Fillenwarth said undercover officers went into the business on Monday after receiving tips.
“The detective went in, paid money up front for a full body massage, and approximately half way through the massage, when the detective was rolled onto his back. The suspect then grabbed the detective’s genitals and began to manually stimulate the detective,” said Fillenwarth.
Police arrested Su for prostitution. A notice was placed on the door indicating the city suspended the business’s permit and the owners can appeal the decision in a hearing.
“It’s good money for them and they’re sending that back to their home to their families, is what they’re telling me,” said Fillenwarth.
Fillenwarth said in this case, the woman admitted to prostitution on her own free will. However, he has concerns that there is a human trafficking problem in the area. He said over the past three years, there have been three massage parlors busted for prostitution. In each case the women were Chinese and appeared to be living out-of-state.
“They’re under threat or maybe there is a criminal enterprise back in their home country that says, ‘Hey, if you don’t do this, we’re going to hurt your family,’” said Fillenwarth.
Fillenwarth also said that prostitution is a misdemeanor for first time offenders. He believes that’s why you see these business owners taking the risk.
