Crime & Safety

Utica Massage Parlor Owner Arrested on Suspicion of Prostitution

A 47-year-old Utica woman faces prostitution charges after police said she offered to perform a sexual act on an undercover officer.

The owner of the Cozy Spa in Utica was arrested Tuesday after police said she offered to perform a sexual act on an undercover officer during a massage.

Utica police have turned the investigation over to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office and are seeking prostitution charges against the 47-year-old Utica woman.

The woman accused of prostitution is one of two owners of the spa, located at 45563 Van Dyke Ave. There were three other people working at the time of her arrest, but Utica Chief Dave Faber said he doesn’t expect any other arrests to result from the undercover investigation at this time.

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Faber told Patch the department had requested help from an undercover team to investigate the business after they had received information that illegal activity was going on at the spa.

Several websites indexed on Google describe the spa as an "Asian erotic massage parlor."

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"I do believe that word had gotten out about the type of activity that goes on there, and yes, that had drawn people to the business," said Faber. "You went in and asked for a message and then I believe that some of the customers began to ask for additional sexual acts."

Faber told Patch the sexual acts did not involve penetration.

The woman who was arrested and her partner were granted a massage parlor license from the City of Utica in July 2011, after passing police background checks and presenting accreditations from legitimate massage schools.

However, Faber said the women were from China had not been in the United States very long. "We have strict guidelines for when we issue massage licenses. We’re up to date on how we do background checks," Faber said.


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