Phil Dodd“Human Trafficking — Illicit Massage Parlors” was the title of a slide deck that State Police Human Trafficking Coordinator Lt. Michael Studin presented to the House Government Operations and Military Affairs Committee on Feb. 5.
He testified in support of legislation, H.588, that would require registration of massage establishments in Vermont, several of which employ trafficked Asian women to supply sexual services to male customers, according to Studin.
H.588, a bill that also includes other changes involving the Office of Professional Regulation, was approved by the committee on Feb. 19 and subsequently passed by both the House Ways and Means Committee and House Appropriations Committee. The House approved the bill on second reading March 13 and will likely soon be sent to the Senate.
Another bill before the House Government Operations Committee, H.623, would require licensing of massage therapists, who are already required to register. That bill does not appear likely to move this year.
Studin told the committee that illicit massage parlors operate nationally and are usually run by Chinese organized crime syndicates that control and traffic the women who provide massages and perform sex acts.
Vermont has its share of suspected illicit massage parlors, including two that have been operating in Montpelier (one appears to have recently closed, see story page 1). According to a website that reviews massage parlors offering sexual services, there are at least 17 illicit massage parlors in Vermont.
According to Studin, the women — usually Chinese or Korean, and who may not speak English — are brought in from abroad through Flushing, New York, and are moved from parlor to parlor up and down the East coast.
Every review of local massage sites on a website called “Rubmaps.ch” noted that the women offering service were “Asian,” and one referred to a female worker as “just off the boat.”
In an email to The Bridge, Noriko Matsumoto, Ph.D., a senior lecturer for the University of Vermont Department of Sociology, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, responded to the focus on Asian women in the context of local spas. She wrote: “Labor exploitation in the illicit segment of the spa industry, especially of immigrant populations — complicated by issues of gender and race, illegality, and trafficking — has been documented. These vulnerable immigrant women are likely lacking English fluency, knowledge of the law, or skills that would allow participation in the mainstream labor market.”
In fact, Matsumoto noted that the role of Asian women in spas (and media coverage of it) has the potential to perpetuate negative stereotypes, and contribute to “a demonization in the public mind towards those who, in effect, are the victims.”
Studin said the illicit massage parlors are run on a tax-free, cash basis and are “extremely profitable.” An illicit massage parlor in Brattleboro that Studin investigated brought in over $500,000 per year in cash, he said.
Illicit massage parlors take appointments as well as walk-in customers, Studin told the committee. A massage costs about $80. After a half-hour massage, men are offered a range of sexual options, ranging from an additional $40 for a hand job to $200 plus for full sexual intercourse, Studin said.
The parlor business keeps the basic massage fee, he said. The women keep the money for the sex acts but have to pay a house fee to the parlor for working, living, and eating there.
“There is not really much left, and they are not free to go,” Studin said. “They are being trafficked.”
Referring to prostitution, Studin said “the women are performing a crime, but they are being forced to commit a crime.” They may work 10 hours a shift, seven days a week, and eat and live on the premises, Studin said, adding that he views them as victims.
According to Studin, a hallmark of illicit parlors is they only service male clients. “Females are turned away when they call to make appointments,” Studin said. The male clients come from all socioeconomic backgrounds and include Vermonters as well as out-of-staters, he noted.
The same business model is used across the nation, according to Studin. The parlors are “hidden in plain sight,” get local permits, use a front person with no criminal record, keep quiet, and operate under the radar, he said.
Studin told The Bridge that investigating illicit massage parlors is resource-intensive and faces obstacles such as trafficking victims not cooperating, language barriers, and difficulties getting into the facilities.
A 2022 state effort to shut down a massage parlor in Brattleboro called Rainbow Therapeutic Wellness took hundreds of hours of investigation but did not accomplish much in the end. Three Korean women who were living at the facility were freed, but the state police never heard from them again.
Charges against a Korean woman who was cooking, cleaning, and holding money at the parlor were thrown out by a judge two years later for lack of evidence, according to the Brattleboro Reformer. Meanwhile, Rainbow Therapeutics reopened shortly after it was raided and is still operating, with 12 sexual reviews posted online since the reopening.
“When we are not getting significant outcomes, you have to weigh the benefit versus the time and effort involved,” he said. Studin said there is little the state can do under current law to hold the businesses accountable, which is why new legislation is needed.
A few days after Studin testified, the chief investigator for the state’s Office of Professional Regulation, Michael Warren, testified before the same committee about the massage parlor section of H.588. He also favored requiring massage parlors to register with the state.
“If establishment registration were in place, the businesses themselves could be prosecuted and ultimately closed for engaging in unprofessional conduct,” Warren said Feb. 11.
“We could also prosecute unregistered ‘massage’ businesses for unauthorized practice. This is often much simpler to prove than human or sex trafficking, even when that is the underlying concern,” he said.
Currently, the only people connected to illicit massage businesses the state can prosecute are the practitioners themselves, but “we are not interested in charging victims of human or sex trafficking,” Warren said.
Earlier, on Jan. 28, the Government Operations Committee took testimony on H.623, a bill introduced by Rep. Conor Casey of Montpelier, that would require the licensing of massage therapists.
Casey told the committee that Vermont is one of only five states that does not license massage therapists. Unlike registration, which is currently required of massage therapists, licensing would require education, training, and background checks, as is required of all other Vermont health professionals who touch bodies, he said.
“Every state around us requires licensing, so if there are bad actors, where are they going to go?” Casey asked. He compared the current massage therapy situation in Vermont to the “Wild West.”
Warren, of the Office of Professional Regulation, said in his testimony that registration of massage therapists is sufficient and that licensing is not necessary, but two Vermont massage therapists who testified Jan. 28 had a different view.
“There is no question in my mind that the state of Vermont needs to license (not register) massage therapists and massage therapy establishments,” Heather Chadwick, president of the Vermont chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, said.
“Vermont’s current massage registration requires zero regulations or requirements of professionalism in our industry,” Chadwick said. “How many trafficking cases do we have to have in Vermont before we can say enough is enough?”
Massage therapist Laura Morley, who practices in North Bennington, argued the state should ensure that massage therapists are properly trained and prevent sex trafficking in massage therapy establishments.
She recalled that in 2012 the FBI raided two illegitimate businesses in Vermont that were using massage therapy as a front for prostitution, but no arrests were made and she said the establishments still exist.
“At the time, I spoke to county attorney Erica Marthage and asked if massage therapists were licensed in Vermont, would that have helped with prosecuting these individuals and she responded, without hesitation, ‘yes’,” Morley testified.
Not all massage therapists support licensing. In legislative testimony, Chris Adams of Massage Vermont in Montpelier argued that, in other states, licensing massage therapists has not reduced illicit massage businesses or human trafficking. Instead, the business has increased and it generates billions of dollars a year, he said.
“Burdening massage therapists with educational requirements and professional licensing beyond registration will not address the problem,” Adams said. “Licensing establishments that hire employees or independent contractors might.”
