APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – The Appleton Police Department and Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office are cracking down on illegitimate massage parlors that have been operating as fronts for prostitution.
Starting in 2018, authorities received information related to sexual activity occurring within the businesses. So over the past year, agencies have been investigating those claims. Officer Meghan Cash says police also conducted interdiction stops with patrons to find out exactly what was happening inside. Many revealed that sexual acts were happening for an additional fee; most of those incidents were reportedly initiated by employees. She also says they just recently have been able to begin sharing the details of those investigations with the public.
Cash adds that the concerns over illegal activity are heightened when it comes to offering sex services, because the dangers of human trafficking could also be part of the equation.
“The risk of someone being victimized is always on the top of our list of things we’re concerned about. And this is another big one that we find very concerning with the criminal activity happening,” says Cash.
While executing search warrants in these cases, officers found that employees were often living in the business facility, which is a violation of local jurisdictions zoning codes. The majority of businesses also did not have an employee present who was licensed to practice massage in the State of Wisconsin. That’s where Cash says landlords should be sticklers when vetting new tenants.
She explains that “we’re also encouraging property managers to verify that people have a State of Wisconsin massage therapy license prior to letting a business open. And we have to do as much as we can to verify the information from people because this is a safety concern.”
Due to rising criminal activity at some locations, property managers can issue a five-day nuisance abatement notice if certain criteria are met.
Authorities are also reaching out to legitimate massage businesses in the area to get an idea of what actually happens in their practices.
Cash praises the help, saying “our partnerships with a lot of local, verified massage therapists have been so invaluable to us because of the amount of information they have been able to provide us and see what an actual, legitimate massage business looks like.”
During recent investigations, six different local massage businesses were shut down for offering illegal services. Several arrests were also made on charges of prostitution and keeping a place of prostitution.
Anyone who believes a business is operating under a false premise or is suspicious of services being offered, is asked to report the potentially illegitimate business to police.
