BEAUMONT, Texas — A 42-year-old woman was arrested Thursday morning after Beaumont Police and the city shut down a Walden Rd massage parlor.
Beaumont Police arrested the 42-year-old woman at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday morning at Sun Massage at 5750 Walden Rd in a strip mall across the street from the post office, according to a news release from police.
The woman is being held on a prostitution charge in the Jefferson County Correctional Facility where her bond is set at $500 according to jail records. The charge is a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a maximum $2,000 fine.
Police began investigating the massage parlor after receiving multiple prostitution complaints about the business.
Beaumont detectives compiled information corroborating the complaints and developed probable cause to arrest the woman, police said.
Detectives then entered the parlor on Thursday to arrest her.
After the the arrest City of Beaumont fire and code enforcement inspectors performed an inspection of the parlor and found enough violations to warrant shutting it down.
Police are continuing to investigate and could make additional arrests, according to the news release.
As law enforcement continues to crack down on these illegal parlors, licensed massage therapists and nearby businesses are usually the first to notice that these establishments aren't what they seem.
Witnesses two doors down from sun massage tell 12News they've noticed illegal activity going to and from the parlor for months.
"[It was] four months ago that I actually started noticing how crowded it would be and it was primarily male customers. Late 30s maybe early 40s," said Kay Watts, a client at D&D Nails & Spa.
Watts has been a regular at D&D for six months. She says she witnessed its loyal customer base didn't hesitate to empty their wallets for their apparent back pain.
"With us being nosy, we went over there trying to see 'hey, what's all they hype about?' We thought it was kind of odd that you want a $40 tip for $60 service. My friends and I were like 'no we're not going to stay.'," Watts said.
D&D Nails & Spa owner Phan Duong saw the Thursday morning raid. She says for almost five months, she'd seen mostly men go in and out of the parlor after close.
"I feel better now that that happened to them. They give us a bad name, too," she said.
Duong and her business aren't the only ones getting a bad rap.
"It's the butt of all the jokes. Even as soon as you mention you are a massage therapist," said Lamar State College Orange massage therapy program director Erin Peters.
Peters says it's easy to spot suspicious massage parlors from several red flags.
"If they have any kind of LED lights in the windows, if there's a picture in the window of a woman getting a massage or a man getting a massage. If they accept walk-ins on the spot. A good assessment is an absolute necessity for a legitimate massage," she said.
Peters says the shutdown of Sun Massage Parlor was another battle won in the fight against prostitution and human trafficking. A fight the police can't fight alone.
"The police can't do it all. It has to be the community that makes a difference rather than waiting for the police to bust them," said Peters.
Remember, if you see something say something. If you suspect a business may be involved in prostitution or human trafficking, you can report it by calling Crime Stoppers or iWatchTexas.
This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.
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