Worker charged with prostitution at Batavia massage parlor - Chicago Tribune

[massage]

A Batavia massage parlor worker has been charged with prostitution after a compliance check by Batavia investigators, police said Friday.

About 5:31 p.m. Thursday, an undercover Batavia police investigator went into Gem Spa, 300 E. Wilson St. He paid $60 for a one-hour massage, said Batavia police Detective Kevin Bretz.

During the massage, the investigator and masseuse started talking.

"The undercover officer just made a reference to, 'Is there anything else we can do?' something very general, and the arrestee advised him what she could do," Bretz said.


The woman offered to perform a specific sexual act for an additional $70, Bretz said.

The undercover investigator immediately stopped the massage and notified other investigators what had happened, according to a Batavia police news release.

Police identified the woman who performed the massage and allegedly offered the sexual act in exchange for money as Jue Xiang, 35, of the 200 block of West 22nd Place, Chicago.

Xiang was charged with one count of prostitution and one count of practicing massage therapy without a state license, both class A misdemeanors, according to police.


Xiang was released on $150 bond and is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Dec. 20 at the Kane County Branch Court.

Hers is the second prostitution arrest at Gem Spa within the last seven months, according to police. On May 12, police investigators arrested a different woman after conducting a similar compliance check. That case is still pending in Kane County. Also on May 12 during a similar sting, police arrested a woman at another Batavia massage parlor.

In April, massage licenses were revoked for three massage spas in nearby St. Charles that violated their licenses. Employees at two of the spas also were charged with prostitution, and both are scheduled to appear in court later this month.

It's unknown how many of the recent prostitution arrests at massage businesses in the area are related, Bretz said.

"Whether or not they are all related, we don't know," Bretz said. "It just seems to be getting a bit more prevalent out in the suburbs because some of these owners feel if they come out here, local municipalities are not as well versed as to what could be going on in some of these parlors."


But, Bretz pointed out, that's not the case. Police do realize what goes on behind the scenes in some massage spas and have been conducting more compliance checks, he said.

"It's not a free zone out here anymore," Bretz said. "We have figured this stuff out, and now we are acting, and we will continue to act."

In Batavia, the mayor is the liquor commissioner. Whether Gem Spa will be allowed to remain open or in its current location is an administrative issue that will likely be handled by the mayor's office, Bretz said.

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