Police have arrested 17 in parlors since ’02
PICO BOULEVARD — A bench warrant has been issued for two women who were arrested last month for soliciting sex in a massage parlor from an undercover Santa Monica Police officer.
Hyon Chu Pak, 41, and Yung Suk Davenport, 49, were arrested on Feb. 24 at Tokyo Health Studio, 817 Pico Blvd., after Santa Monica police vice detectives were allegedly solicited for sex in exchange for money, police said.
Pak was arrested for aiding another person in the commission of prostitution and Davenport was arrested for prostitution and unlawfully exposing herself in a massage parlor, said Chief Deputy City Attorney Betty Haviland.
Acting on a citizen complaint, an undercover officer went inside the parlor at 4:55 p.m., asked for a massage, and was taken to a room in which Davenport provided the detective with a massage, police said. Davenport allegedly removed her clothes and solicited sex, at which time the detective gave a predetermined signal and the other officers entered the parlor, police said. Pak, who accepted money from the officer prior to the massage, allegedly signaled to Davenport in the massage room through an electronic device that officers had entered the parlor.
Released on their own recognizance, the two women failed to show up for an arraignment at the LAX Courthouse on March 23 to enter a plea, said Haviland, who handles criminal prosecutions for City Hall. A bench warrant was issued on March 29.
Neither Davenport nor Pak could be reached for comment. The owner of Tokyo Health Studio also couldn’t be reached for comment. An employee of the parlor, which charges $100 an hour for a massage, on Wednesday said she didn’t know the owner’s full name and didn’t know Pak or Davenport, though most employees use nicknames.
Many Asian massage parlors in Santa Monica for years have been known for being houses of ill repute, said Edward Tabash, a Beverly Hills attorney whose clients are mostly accused of prostitution. But that doesn’t mean they should be a focus of police scrutiny, he said.
“These places, whatever goes on in them, doesn’t hurt anybody,” Tabash said. “It’s a diversion of police resources and I think the Santa Monica Police Department has to get its priorities straight... It’s more important to focus on violent crime and to stop pickpockets on the Promenade than it is to crack down on people who aren’t hurting you.”
Still, prostitution remains against city and state law and police are sworn to uphold the law. SMPD Sgt. Bob Almada, who is in charge of the vice and narcotics division, said his department routinely conducts prostitution stings in Santa Monica.
However, in massage parlors, vice detectives usually investigate after receiving a citizen complaint or a tip, Almada said.
“Street prostitution is easy to observe. During the scope of patrolling, it’s easy to observe illegal activities,” he said, adding that’s not always the case inside massage parlors. “In parlors, we get information from an informant or a complaint from a citizen, then we can act on it.
“Whenever we get a citizen complaint we check it out.”
Since 2002, there have been 17 arrests for prostitution in Santa Monica massage parlors. Another 20 arrests have been made since 2002 that are related to violations of the municipal code, which include a variety of illegal activities such as doors to massage rooms being locked; massage technicians being unclothed and clients’ genitals exposed during the massage, to name a few. Only two or three of the city’s parlors are repeat offenders, Almada said.
Although the number of arrests for street prostitution in Santa Monica weren’t readily available, it seems to be subsiding.
Almada said in the 14 years he’s been with the SMPD, he’s seen prostitution drop significantly in Santa Monica, particularly along the Lincoln Boulevard corridor from Interstate 10 to Rose Avenue, also known as “Pleasure Palace Boulevard,” according to Tabash.
“Street prostitution was much more prevalent in the early ’90s,” Almada said.
Tabash agreed, saying prostitution’s heyday on Lincoln Boulevard was between 1991 and 1998. Tabash represents many women who are arrested for prostitution along Lincoln Boulevard, as well as in the San Fernando Valley and throughout Los Angeles.
Because it is a state highway and serves as a main thoroughfare, hookers find Lincoln Boulevard a profitable place to set up shop.
The SMPD regularly conducts sting operations on Lincoln Boulevard, with the most recent being last fall, Almada said. The operation usually involves male and female officers who conduct a “Reverse John Sting.” Female officers use themselves as bait to lure “Johns” to a street corner on Lincoln Boulevard where they are propositioned and brought to a nearby hotel room. Once the men solicit sex, they are arrested for prostitution, which is a misdemeanor offense. Undercover officers wear a wire underneath their clothing so vice detectives waiting in the hotel room can hear their conversations with the men.
On average, SMPD arrests between three and eight “Johns” during an operation, police said.
“We conduct continual enforcement along the Lincoln corridor throughout the year,” Almada said.
Tabash, who came in second for a run against State Sen. Sheila Kuehl for State Assembly in 1994, said he thinks that prostitution shouldn’t be criminalized, admitting that that argument doesn’t get very far in the courtroom when defending his clients.
He also said in a city as liberal as Santa Monica, cracking down on prostitution goes against its live-and-let-live nature.
“I don’t want Santa Monica to stray from its civil liberties moorings and it’s not in keeping with an enlightened Santa Monica,” he said. “I would issue a plea to an otherwise very good police department to get its priorities straight.”
Tabash characterized residents who complain about the alleged activity in massage parlors as living in “hoity toity” neighborhoods and are busybodies who should mind their own business. He added that most of the parlors’ clientele are middle-aged businessmen and not “violent low lifes.”
“Whatever hanky panky is going on is a service that hurts no one,” he said. “No one can say they are legitimately hurt by what goes on in that little room...
“Live with it.” Anyone who sees suspicious activity can call the SMPD’s narcotics and vice division tipline at (310) 458-2292.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 31, 2005. Read the original PDF.