The city sued both the Tokyo Spa and Bella Luna Studio in county court on Feb. 15, seeking temporary restraining orders and permanent injunctions to shut the businesses down. The two parlors could not be reached for comment.
Bella Luna Studio in Northwest Dallas has a certificate of occupancy from the city for office, showroom and warehouse uses. It is not a licensed massage establishment, according to the city. The Dallas Police Department’s Special Investigations Division Human Trafficking Squad began responding to complaints about prostitution at the location in mid-January. According to court documents, the department’s initial investigation into Bella Luna Studio showed that it was advertised in a deliberately sexual manner, including advertisements for “busty Latinas” and depicting women in lingerie.
On Jan. 31, a Dallas Police detective visited Bella Luna Studio undercover. He was greeted by a woman named Liliana Ramirez, the owner of the establishment, before being escorted to a massage room and left with a woman named Brenda. After some time, Brenda offered additional services for extra money. When the detective inquired further, Brenda said he could have everything other than anal sex or kissing for $250, but a condom would be required unless he wanted to pay an extra $100. The detective denied the extra services and received an unlicensed massage.
Another detective identified in court documents had a similar experience when he visited Bella Luna Studio on Feb. 7. When he entered the establishment, he was greeted by someone who identified herself as Candy. She provided the detective with a small page listing prices and accepted $100 for a one-hour massage. During the massage, Candy agreed to have sex for an extra $100. “‘Candy’ attempted to place the detective’s hand on her breast, but the detective declined sexual services,” court documents said.
During their conversation, Candy told the detective that she was from Costa Rica and would be in town for only ten days before returning to her country. This indicates that the employees at Bella Luna Studio are being trafficked and are likely living on the premises, according to court documents.
Two more detectives visited Bella Luna Studio the next day and had similar experiences. In addition to the undercover investigations, Dallas Code Compliance also visited the location and found various code violations.“‘Candy’ attempted to place the detective’s hand on her breast, but the detective declined sexual services." – lawsuit
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DPD has been looking into the other establishment, Tokyo Spa in Northeast Dallas, since at least March 2021, when a detective visited the business undercover. When the undercover detective entered the business, he was greeted by an older Asian woman, later identified as Mi Pham, who escorted him back to a massage room. A short time later, an unknown Asian woman entered the room and told the detective that the house fee was $60 and her fee was $100. When the detective asked if that was the accurate price, the woman gestured with a stroking motion toward her mouth and stated “$100.”
“[The detective] knows from his training and experience that the woman’s gesture signified oral sex,” court documents said.
The detective paid the woman $160, at which point she removed her clothes and exposed herself, retrieving a condom from her purse. The detective told her he didn’t like the kind of condom she had. The woman left the room to discuss the issue with Pham, who told her to return the detective's money.
DPD conducted another undercover investigation into Tokyo Spa on Feb. 28, 2022. After 20 minutes of massage, a woman who identified herself as Annie Hall asked the undercover DPD detective what he wanted. “… he responded by rolling onto his back and asking Ms. Hall if she would do the massage nude and simultaneously pointed to his genital area and gestured in a manner to convey that he wanted oral sex,” court documents said. Hall nodded and asked how much money he had. He offered her $100. Hall said he would get only oral sex for this amount. She left the room and came back with a spray bottle, condom and cloth. Hall sprayed the cloth and placed it on the detective's genitals, attempting to wipe the area.
“The detective quickly told her that he did not know if he wanted to do this anymore and moved her hand away from him,” court documents said. At that time, the detective heard Pham scream “inspection!” as the detective had covertly called his team in. Hall immediately told him to put his clothes back on and that if anyone asks he should say he was just there for a massage.
Additional undercover investigations were conducted the following month and earlier this year, with each yielding similar findings.
"This is a crime that is not exclusive to Dallas, it is a global problem." – Kristin Lowman, Dallas Police Department
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Between 2019 and 2022, DPD arrested 38 people and provided resources to 50 victims through investigations targeting massage businesses. In 2019, police busted three massage parlors during a sex trafficking raid and charged the owners with promoting prostitution. The city later sued the owners.
The department looks into massage therapy and reflexology businesses as possible fronts for prostitution, money laundering or human trafficking. Reflexology therapy businesses focus on a type of massage that involves applying pressure to only the feet, hands and ears. Massage therapy is licensed by the state but reflexology is not.
Massage therapy businesses are regulated by the Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation. DPD works with the department during its inspections and with code compliance on investigations and operations to catch criminal activity.
In 2022 during a public safety committee meeting, Lt. Lisette Rivera of DPD’s Vice Unit said many cities are looking to model their response to massage businesses after Houston’s approach. “They have officers who have been trained as code compliance officers, and this helps hold business owners responsible for the criminal behaviors occurring inside the businesses instead of targeting the workers,” she said.
One big challenge is that businesses are investigated mostly based on complaints, instead of a consistent regulatory process. Another big challenge is that organized crime adapts quickly.
“This means that businesses can shut down and they can open under another name,” Rivera said. “Workers can be moved to another location or state. So, businesses can use anonymous shell companies that make it difficult to target the business owners.”
Last year, the department took on 157 trafficking cases and 361 cases of prostitution. "This is a crime that is not exclusive to Dallas, it is a global problem," Kristin Lowman, a DPD spokesperson, told the Observer by email. She said the department and its partners work to connect victims of prostitution to resources, including housing, medical attention, food, clothing and job placement.
"A big part of combatting human trafficking and prostitution is education, outreach," she said. "The department and our partners work to educate the public on this crime – to increase awareness and in turn, those who are impacted, or the public can recognize signs of trafficking, report them, and we can work to stop the operations."
