Massage parlor manager was really running a brothel, officials say - NJ.com

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After a five-month investigation, authorities in Ocean City have charged a 61-year-old woman with running a massage parlor on the Jersey Shore as a kind of brothel.

Grace Li, of Ocean City, was charged last week with managing a house of prostitution, Cape May County Prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland announced Monday.

The business, called L&G Massage Spa, is located at 508 East 9th St., just a few blocks from Ocean City’s family-friendly boardwalk.

It's website says it offers massages including Swedish and deep tissue, but authorities say that customers could pay at least some women who worked there for sexual acts.

The prosecutor's office said the investigation began in July, when the Ocean City Police Department got a tip that prostitution was occurring at the spa. The local police partnered on the investigation with the prosecutor's office and Homeland Security Investigations, the office said in a statement Monday.

A judge issued a search warrant last week, and authorities searched the spa and issued Li a summons on the third-degree charge.

If convicted, she faces a possible sentence of three to five years in jail, prosecutors said.

However, Sutherland said that additional charges may be filed and the investigation is still ongoing.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the prosecutor's office at 609-465-1135 or Ocean City police at 609-399-9111. Anonymous reports can also be submitted at cmcsheriff.net.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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