Women facing prostitution charges following Ravenna massage parlor raids - AOL

[Jeff Saunders, Ravenna Record-Courier]

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Jeff Saunders, Ravenna Record-Courier

October 11, 2024 at 12:54 PM

Two women arrested Monday in raids on Ravenna massage parlors have been indicted on prostitution charges.

Hongxiang Liu, 48, and Aijuan Xiong, 39, are charged with fourth-degree felony promoting prostitution and fifth-degree felony possessing criminal tools, a cell phone. The grand jury indictment was filed Friday in Portage County Court of Common Pleas.

They are also charged with receiving proceeds from the commission of an offense subject to forfeiture proceedings, a fifth-degree felony for Liu and a first-degree misdemeanor for Xiong. The charges include specifications related to confiscated cash, nearly $8,300 in Liu's case and $710 in Xiong's.

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The promoting prostitution charge against Liu also includes a specification in connection with the money.

According to a Ravenna police report, members of Ravenna Police Department, Summit County Collaborative Against Human Trafficking − made up of the Ohio Attorney General's Office, and the Summit, Stark, and Portage County Sheriff's Offices − and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation executed search warrants at businesses at 112 N. Chestnut St. and 444 S. Meridian St.

The operation came following a months-long joint investigation that included the use of undercover law enforcement officers.

Liu was found at the North Chestnut location, identified as U Foot Spa, while Xiong was found at the South Meridian location. This second business is not identified in the report, but an Internet search of the address and suite number turned up the name KR Acupressure Relax Spa.

Liu denied that the two businesses are associated with each other, saying they are competitors. However, the reports says, both businesses used the same business agent located in Flushing, a town in the borough of Queens in New York City, to get their domestic for-profit corporation articles.

In addition, Liu and Xiong both previously lived in Flushing.

The report says the investigation is ongoing.

Xiong is free on a personal bond and scheduled for arraignment Tuesday before Portage County Common Pleas Judge Laurie J. Pittman. A 10% of $2,500 bond was set in Portage County Municipal Court in Ravenna earlier in the week. Arraignment information was not immediately available for her on Friday.

Reporter Jeff Saunders can be reached at jsaunders@recordpub.com.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Prostitution charges filed following Ravenna massage parlor raids