Eleven Women in Court After Eight Massage Parlour Raids in Roanoke County

Eleven women arrested in Roanoke County over illicit massage parlours faced initial hearings Wednesday. Human trafficking is suspected behind the operation.

Roanoke County Massage Parlour Bust: Eleven Women Arraigned, Trafficking Suspected

Eleven women appeared in court Wednesday for initial hearings following their arrest in connection with eight alleged illicit massage parlours in Roanoke County, Virginia, wdbj7.com reports.

Each woman faces a single misdemeanor charge of maintaining or residing in a bawdy place — defined under Virginia law as a building used for lewdness or prostitution. A judge explained the charges to all eleven defendants and gave each the opportunity to retain legal counsel. The charge carries a possible jail sentence.

Court documents state that during police inspections of the parlours, officers found condoms, sex toys and cash on the premises.

Investigators believe a larger criminal network may be involved. Police have indicated that human trafficking is suspected as a driving force behind the operation.

According to authorities, the women are from New York and Texas. Many told police they had only been in the Roanoke area for a few weeks. Bail determination checklists filed by police note evidence that the women were living inside the parlours where they worked. All eleven are being held without bond. The Commonwealth's Attorney indicated that if any were to flee, extradition would be highly unlikely.

wdbj7.com spoke with The Lampstand, an organisation that supports victims of sexual exploitation, about the trafficking concerns surrounding the case.

"The vulnerabilities that we see in this case are huge red flags of human trafficking," said Alana Araujo, Communications Coordinator for The Lampstand. "The fact that some of the traffickers or recruiters might not be able to speak English, or the fact that some of the individuals charged were not able to speak English, that's a huge vulnerability. Housing stability, where they're working at, maybe documentation, those can all be red flags of human trafficking."

Two men were also charged with frequenting a bawdy place. Neither was booked into jail, and no mugshots exist for either individual. Both are scheduled to appear in court later this month.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)