Austin massage business temporarily closed for suspected human trafficking - KXAN.com

[Sarah Al-Shaikh]

AUSITN (KXAN) — A massage business in Austin just got shut down for suspected human trafficking. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation issued a six-month emergency closure order effective Dec. 2, 2024.

The owner of JT Spa, located at 11416 N. Ranch Road 620, was ordered to stop operating this massage business and is prohibited from operating a different massage establishment at this location.

“The person who runs the establishment is not allowed to be involved in any massage establishment business, doing massages, hiring other people to do massages,” said TDLR Communications Manager Tela Mange.

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  This latest closure makes a total of six emergency orders at massage businesses in the Austin-area. (Photo: KXAN)
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  This latest closure makes a total of six emergency orders at massage businesses in the Austin-area. (Photo: KXAN)

Mange said the six-month closure gives the TDLR time to continue investigating. KXAN reached out to the business, but we haven’t heard back yet.

A customer’s complaint​

In late October, TDLR received a complaint from a customer. The person left the establishment when an employee offered sexual services while she was providing the massage.

“They did not want that, and so they got up and got dressed and left,” Mange said.

Mange said the complainant provided information they’d found online on an illicit massage website that mentioned the employee who made the offer of sexual services.

The TDLR did an on-site inspection. Inspectors found that at least two employees were living in the business and that at least one employee providing massages was not licensed.

“They found that there were people living in the massage establishment. That’s not allowed.”

Tela Mange, TDLR Communications Manager

The state agency also found items indicating sexual activities happened there. The closure was no surprise to a manager of the business next door.

The manager, who did not want to share their name, said they never saw any of the employees leave.

“Once a week it would be the male owner that would come with his car and bring a bunch of groceries inside,” the neighboring manager said. “All the customers that would go in were just all males. Pretty much 90% of males.”

HB 3579​

The TDLR has issued 16 similar emergency orders across the state since last September. At that time, HB 3579 went into effect.

It allows the TDLR executive director to issue these if law enforcement or the agency believes there’s human trafficking.

“The vast majority of these cases where we have issued emergency orders, the owners of the establishments have opted to get out of the the massage business, in the massage industry in Texas,” Mange said.

RELATED COVERAGE: Austin massage parlor ordered to close amid sex trafficking investigation

This latest closure is now the sixth massage business in Austin to receive an emergency order.

The TDLR created a Massage Therapy Consumer Protection PSA to show any red flags to look out for.

Some tips include:

• Clearly state your limits
• Always use draping
• Dress to your comfort level
• Ask for an establishment’s license
• Ask for a massage therapist’s license

Anyone who suspects human trafficking at a TDLR-regulated business can file a complaint. If someone is in a situation where they are offered sexual services, Mange said its okay to leave immediately.

“Even if you’re in the middle of the massage, if things start feeling not right, you have every right to say, ‘Stop,'” Mange said.