POLICE HDQRTS. — Undercover officers have arrested three women for prostitution in the last week and a half, signaling that the practice of selling sex still continues despite efforts to eradicate it.
The arrests were made at a hotel at Ocean Park Boulevard and 23rd Street, a massage parlor in the 1000 block of Pico Boulevard, and at the corner of Lincoln Boulevard and Michigan Avenue, police said.
One arrest came as part of an undercover operation by Santa Monica vice officers acting on tips from residents that a massage parlor was employing women who were offering sex for money. The other two arrests also involved undercover officers, but they were not part of a sting operation. Officers involved in those arrests were on routine patrol in areas where prostitutes are known to gather, and police witnessed illegal activity in progress.
Prostitution has long been a problem on Lincoln Boulevard, as well as in areas that have a high concentration of massage parlors.
In a report to City Hall, city staff said that more than 25 percent of the 51 massage parlors in Santa Monica engage in illegal activity, SMPD regularly conducts stings notably prostitution.
“This is a problem that everyone is aware of,” said Sunset Park resident Charles Donaldson, a member of the Pico Business Improvement Organization, a merchant’s group. “There has been a concern with the massage parlors, some complaints about prostitution going on there, and about the by-products of that activity: drugs, violence.”
City Hall has tried to regulate massage parlors by enacting laws that call for those businesses to carry permits and for employees to go through background checks. The law excuses those businesses where the masseuses can provide documentation that they have completed a certain amount of hours of training and that they have membership in a professional organization.
Responding to resident complaints, SMPD regularly conducts undercover stings at massage parlors, police said.
The SMPD also conducts sting operations along a stretch of Lincoln Boulevard known as “Pleasure Palace Boulevard.” 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.
The problem is, those arrested are quickly replaced by new customers and new prostitutes, some who are smuggled into the country from Korea to work in brothels, according to federal authorities working to dismantle smuggling rings. Also, when a business is cited, the operators will transfer ownership to a relative or friend, allowing the parlor to stay in business, city staff said.
The first in the recent series of arrests occurred on Saturday, March 18, at 1:55 p.m. Undercover detectives responded to the 1000 block of Pico Boulevard regarding anonymous tips that prostitution was taking place. When officers arrived, they entered the location and were asked if they wanted a massage for $50. An officer paid the money and was taken to a massage room, where he was allegedly asked if he wanted to engage in sex for an additional fee. The officer called for backup, and the masseuse was arrested and booked for prostitution. She was identified as Yanxia Zhao, 42, of Los Angeles. Her bail was set at $2,000.
The following two arrests occurred on the evening of Friday, March 24. Officers on routine patrol allegedly spotted Lakeshia Wright, 20, loitering on Lincoln Boulevard. When undercover officers approached, she offered to have sex in exchange for money. She was arrested and booked for prostitution.
Jenny Ta, 19, also was spotted loitering in the area, police said. Undercover officers said they observed Ta get into a car with an unidentified man. The two drove a short distance away, parked, and engaged in sexual activity. The encounter lasted 10 minutes.
The driver dropped Ta off a short distance away, where she was approached by an undercover officer. She asked him if he wanted to have sex. The officer said “yes,” and Ta allegedly told him to drive her to a motel that rented rooms by the hour. The officer drove Ta to the hotel, located at 23rd Street and Ocean Park Boulevard, where she was arrested and booked for prostitution. Her bail was set at $2,000.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 31, 2006. Read the original PDF.