Police find evidence of prostitution at Longmont massage parlor ... - Longmont Times-Call

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Longmont police investigate a massage parlor linked to prostitution near Ken Pratt Boulevard and Main Street on Thursday. (Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer)


Longmont police on Thursday afternoon executed search warrant at a business advertising itself as a massage parlor and uncovered evidence of prostitution.

Sgt. Sean Harper said that three people were detained after police served the warrant at Yoshiko Therapy, 611 Ken Pratt Blvd., but police had not made any arrests as of Thursday evening.

"At this point, we have identified evidence of prostitution," he said.

He said that police have been initiating traffic stops on people seen leaving the business — usually single men — and based on interviews police conducted during the traffic stops were able to gather enough probable cause to obtain a warrant.

"We also received a lot of complaints from people who went in to get a massage and got offered sexual acts," Harper said.

Police on Thursday could be seen entering and exiting the business, which has blacked-out windows, at least three surveillance cameras set up outside and a heavy steel gate that can be slid across the back door.

He said that the business advertises on Backpage.com, a website often used to advertise prostitution-related business. The operators of the website took down its adult listing section earlier this year after a U.S. Senate investigation, a federal grand jury inquiry in Arizona, two federal lawsuits and criminal charges in California accusing them of child sex trafficking.


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Harper said police had not found any evidence of sex trafficking but added that it is very common in businesses that advertise as being massage parlors but engage in prostitution.

"The likelihood is high," he said.

Yoshiko's posting on Backpage.com — which advertises "Best Asian Girls" — appears to have been posted on Thursday and features photographs of Asian women. A woman answered a phone call to the number listed on the posting Thursday, said something in a foreign language, hung up and did not answer a subsequent call or return a message.


Longmont police investigate a massage parlor linked to prostitution near Ken Pratt Boulevard and Main Street on Thursday. (Matthew Jonas / Staff Photographer)


Harper said such businesses aren't common in Longmont, but he could recall two instances when police investigated businesses that appeared to be massage parlors but were in fact engaging in prostitution.

Police raided Therapeutic Massage in 2013 as part of an joint investigation with Fort Collins police, and police arrested a "madame" at Spring Valley Spa in 2006. In that case, police said Korean immigrants were paying off their relocation debts with sex.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

John Bear: 303-473-1355, bearj@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/jonbearwithme


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