Hearst series prompts changes
A state task force studying human trafficking and prostitution at massage businesses issued its first recommendations Wednesday, calling for developing new state laws to regulate the industry, increasing
coordination of investigations, beefing up public awareness campaigns and using asset forfeiture to
deter these crimes.
Lawmakers who lead the task force plan to introduce legislation in the 2021 Connecticut legislative session.
“I plan for us to have a proposal,” said Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, D-West Hartford, a task force co-chairwoman and leader of the Trafficking in Persons Council. “In the past there’s been usually an all encompassing trafficking bill and so it would be my hope that we would get one or two recommendations from this work included in that larger package.”
Connecticut formed the task force after a Hearst Connecticut Media investigation published in February found evidence of dozens of massage parlors selling sex services operating around the state, often despite attempts by law enforcement and state and local officials to shut them down. Human trafficking was suspected at some of these businesses.
“I was really shocked to find out how in our face it is,” said Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, another co-chair of the task force.
The task force of legislators, law enforcement members, state officials and industry representatives convened several times to study the problem between July
and December. They presented their recommendations to the state Trafficking in Persons Council Wednesday, which will make a final proposal to the legislature on sex and labor trafficking issues.
“Our inquiry here has not been about the [massage] industry; it’s actually been about the impersonators who are using the hallmarks of the industry for their illicit purposes,” said Steven Hernandez, executive director for the state Commission on Women, Children and Seniors.
On the internet, it is easy to find graphic reviews from people who claim to have bought sex services at Connecticut massage parlors. Around the country, police often use these review boards, including a website called Rub Maps, as one source of information when investigating possible prostitution and human trafficking crimes.
Hearst Connecticut reviewed 10 years of police records for 30 massage parlors with user “reviews” posted on Rub Maps. As of Jan. 6, the site identified 98 massage parlors in 47 towns where anonymous reviewers claimed to have engaged in sexual acts.
Based on investigations from Connecticut’s Department of Labor and the counter-trafficking nonprofit Polaris, there are 250 illicit massage businesses operating in Connecticut at any given time, the state Trafficking in Persons Council said in its
2018 annual report.
Sometimes these businesses make trafficked individuals to engage in prostitution by withholding their immigration papers, forcing them into debt or using physical violence. Connecticut police have identified evidence of women living at some massage parlors around the state, police records show.
Police records also indicate that stamping out prostitution can be a decadeslong battle for local law enforcement. A Hearst Connecticut investigation found that police records show businesses suspected of prostitution often continue to operate.
Erin Williamson, vice president of Global Programs at the anti-trafficking group Love 146, said Wednesday she has made reports of suspected trafficking to police and the FBI. Law enforcement was “super responsive” but the business is still “wide open,” she said.
The task force recommended establishing a clear point of contact where members of the public and legal massage businesses can report suspected illegal activity, triggering a coordinated investigation involving state and federal law enforcement, the state Department of Labor and advocates who provide services — including translation — to victims.
Police often say they lack resources to back rigorous investigations into prostitution and human trafficking. But only a
small fraction of fees from prostitution convictions meant to support those investigations are being collected by the state, the Trafficking in Persons Council said.
The council will explore the idea of a law that could force landlords to forfeit their property if they know it is used for human trafficking and prostitution and do not intervene. The task force suggested this law could generate funds that could be used to fight criminal activity.
Many towns and cities have also turned to civil statutes as a way to combat illicit massage businesses, writing into their local ordinances zoning requirements, licensing regulations and inspections that increase oversight of the businesses. The result is a patchwork of local laws that sometimes just shifts offending massage parlors over town lines into less regulated municipalities. They can also prove challenging for legitimate massage businesses to navigate.
Gilchrest reported the task force found “having town by town ordinances isn’t effective” and a state ordinance is “imperative.”
The task force also recommended improving public signage warning against trafficking and outlining state resources.