St. Charles massage spa closes after police sting

St. Charles has one fewer massage establishment in town following a police sting that implicated three different locations.

Lotus Spa, which was located next to a Montessori school on Lincoln Highway, relinquished its lease with Shodeen Inc. after a March 15 bust, according to Police Chief James Keegan.

An officer entered the establishment and, for $60, received a massage from the owner of the business, Fenglan Smythe. According to the police report, Smythe is not licensed by the state to perform massages. Smythe told the officer she was in the process of taking the classes necessary to obtain a license. However, according to the report, she acknowledged to officers it was illegal to perform the massage she was paid for.

Shortly after the arrest, Smythe turned her keys in and closed her shop.

The fate of two other massage establishments is yet to be decided.

The owners of Best Massage, on Main Street, entered a guilty plea to the city's alcohol, tobacco and massage commission Monday afternoon. The plea came in response to a police report indicating an officer was inappropriately touched and offered a sex act in exchange for $60 during a sting on March 15.

However, the owners maintained the female employee simply didn't understand what the undercover officer was requesting because she does not speak fluent English.

“I don't think it was appropriate to say that our employee made money for doing inappropriate stuff,” said Rudy Pham, son of the owner. “As a business, we never tell our employee to perform any illegal act. I think there was really a miscommunication between what the police said and what she said she did.”

Pham acknowledged that the employee in question, who was arrested on charges of prostitution, is not a licensed massage therapist with the state.

“That's why we are saying we are guilty,” Pham said. “No matter what the excuse is, we had a (person) who did not have a license. That is our fault.”

Members of the commission will rule on an appropriate penalty for the business within the next 10 days.

The final establishment involved in the sting was Main Spa, also located on Main Street. A police report indicates a female employee agreed to perform a sex act on an undercover officer in exchange for $60. The employee, who did have a valid massage therapist license with the state, confessed to the events that occurred between her and the officer, according to the police report. However, the owners of the spa entered a not guilty plea Monday.

The plea triggers an official hearing in which the police department and the business will both present evidence and testimony before the city's alcohol, tobacco and massage commission determines any possible punishment.

The commission's decisions in these cases will set a precedent moving forward. The arrests are the first major series of violations to the come to the commission since the city implemented a business license for the massage establishments last year. Aldermen created the license after a series of prostitution arrests at massage establishments in the city. Keegan said the arrests his officers made show how serious the police department is about eliminating massage-based prostitution in the city.

“We as a city have taken a strong stance against illegal activity that's been enumerated in the three complaints,” Keegan said.

“We inspect their locations and businesses frequently. We do compliance checks. We have a zero-tolerance approach to this type of activity.”