'Happy Endings' Result in Charges Against Business Owners

In September of 2011, detectives from the Montgomery County Special Investigations Division-Vice and Intelligence Unit initiated a long-term investigation into a series of alleged prostitution brothels operating in the county under the guise of acupressure and massage establishments. In 2011, the Montgomery County Police Department noted a dramatic increase in the number of acupressure and massage parlor advertisements in the adult section of internet sites that cater to adult services. In addition, the Montgomery County Police Department received numerous complaints from citizens about the illegal operation of these businesses.

In the past, the owners/operators of these establishments, much like “pimps”, created enough space between themselves and the business operations that allowed them to be immune from criminal accountability. Investigators determined that illegitimate massage and acupressure businesses operating in the county had become the havens for human trafficking schemes and were exploiting the most vulnerable women as tools for profit.

During this investigation, vice and Intelligence officers initiated a variety of investigative techniques to determine that these businesses were illegal fronts for human trafficking operations. Detectives utilized a new Maryland law that provides an exception to the Maryland Wiretap Law for investigations that involve human trafficking. Officers ultimately executed search warrants at these businesses to gather further evidence of these crimes: