While Indian River and Martin counties are cleaning up an alleged human trafficking ring involving massage parlors, those businesses in St. Lucie County are operating as usual. The county’s law enforcement agencies were not involved in the months-long investigations and there has been no hint that the illegal activity allegedly happening in its neighboring counties is occurring closer to home.
“I was kind of surprised,” said Carin Smith, a spokesperson for the St. Lucie County Tax Collector’s Office. She noted that the county also has several places people can go to get massages, but apparently these establishments all operate above board and don’t provide off-menu services.
“I don’t know how it skipped us,” Smith added, explaining that massage facilities are all categorized the same, be they national brands such as Massage Envy or single-operator, small-scale businesses.
St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Bryan Beatty said that when he asked around about the county’s non- involvement in the investigations, he was told St. Lucie just doesn’t have places “like that,” referring to the shady operations exposed in the neighboring counties.
“There are plenty of places to get a massage,” Beatty said, noting that they are licensed massage therapists. He couldn’t say if the establishments in Martin and Indian River employed licensed therapists.
Beatty added that the Sheriff’s Office has not had much – if any – interaction with massage facilities due to the lack of calls for service. He explained that law enforcement came down hard on two massage parlors years ago in Port St. Lucie providing “other services.” Those parlors were shut down and didn’t return.
Hundreds of people – mostly men – have been arrested in Indian River and Martin counties following raids on several massage parlors. The extent of the investigation spans other counties including Orange and Palm Beach.
The bulk of those arrested are expected to be charged with prostitution solicitation. The sex acts were part of a human trafficking ring that authorities alleged profited well over $1 million and stretched from Orlando, Palm Beach, and Jupiter to New York and China.
Several major players who operated the spas and massage parlors in the various counties have been arrested on charges of racketeering and prostitution.
The prostitution stings led to the release of names that included New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was charged with soliciting prostitution in Jupiter.
