An Associated Press review of state records shows that officers and deputies in Florida have investigated hundreds of massage parlors for illegal sexual activity for years, but the owners and employees usually get off with civil fines and misdemeanor charges, even when there are signs of potential trafficking.
AP β When Florida authorities shut down 10 massage spas last month and charged hundreds of men with buying sex, they broke a longstanding pattern of meting out minor charges and punishment for owners, letting patrons off scot-free and turning a mostly blind eye to signs of human trafficking. Johns usually were not charged at all. In stark contrast, the investigation announced last month spanned several jurisdictions between Palm Beach and Orlando and focused heavily on the possibility of widespread human trafficking.
Several spa owners, most of them women originally from China, were charged with felony racketeering and money laundering and could face years in prison. Authorities say Kraft was twice recorded on video engaging in and then paying for sex acts at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, located in a shopping center in Jupiter.
Both men have denied wrongdoing. Florida has more than 8, licensed massage therapy establishments. Nationwide, the anti-trafficking advocacy group Polaris estimates there are 9, massage establishments with therapists who are trafficked from other places and forced to provide sex acts.
The AP reviewed records from more than Florida Department of Health cases involving massage parlors whose licenses had been revoked, suspended or voluntarily surrendered in the past decade.
