VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Azalea Spa in Deltona is just one of ten massage parlors in Volusia County where some employees were arrested on prostitution charges. Undercover officers went inside for massages — but got a little bit more.
House Bill 197 was signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday. It aims to combat human trafficking in Florida that channels through massage parlors.
Under the new law, the state Department of Health will issue an emergency suspension of a massage therapist or establishment’s license if any employee at the business is arrested on charges related to kidnapping, human trafficking, or prostitution.
The law goes into effect on July 1.
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Back in February, a prostitution sting by Volusia County deputies ended with multiple massage therapists arrested at 10 locations across DeLand, Deltona, Edgewater, Holly Hill, Orange City and Ormond Beach.
News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts went to a few of those parlors on Tuesday, starting with Joy Spa in Deltona. She asked an employee at the front desk about the previous arrest and human trafficking.
“No no no human trafficking,” the employee said.
An employee at Azalea Spa, also in Deltona, refused to comment.
Roberts also stopped in Massage Asia in Orange City.
“We’re coming to ask you a question about the massage therapist who was arrested in February for performing sexual acts here,” Roberts said.
“I don’t speak any English,” the employee replied.
According to the arrest reports, the massage therapists told undercover officers they weren’t kept against their will or forced to stay in the facility.
“If I was in that position and that’s me, of course I would say no. So they’re saving their lives, and some of them are not just saving their life. Some of us doing it because they know that’s where the money’s at, and they’re try to live,” mental health therapist Renee Jones said.
Jones said she was sex trafficked decades ago by someone she once trusted.
She added that she eventually began helping with the operation by grooming other women.
“What I did was to help them come up with the confidence and the ideas and how to properly have oral sex,” Jones said.
Jones said she believes the massage parlor operators know what’s happening between their employees and customers.
“You got to know what’s going on in your store, in your business, in your face,” Jones replied.
Jones said enacting a law is just one step, but it won’t stop the deep-rooted issue.
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