Spa employees face prostitution counts

Pair arrested in Wednesday raid, also charged with operating without licenses

By Alex Bridges - abridges@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- At least two female employees of a local spa offered more than just massages to clients, police said Thursday.

Authorities on Wednesday charged two workers at the Pine Tree Spa, 440 W. Jubal Early Drive, No. 110, with prostitution, according to a news release issued Thursday afternoon by the Winchester Police Department. Officers also charged Sun-Tok Wilson, 45, and Li Xiangshu, 43, also listed as Xizngshu Li, both of the New York area, with having no business license and operating without a certificate from the Board of Nursing, according to the release.

The women were being held at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center before being granted release on a $13,000 bond, according to a jail official. They are scheduled to appear in Winchester General District Court on June 22.

City agencies had received complaints of "possible sexual activity and unsanitary conditions" inside the spa, the release states. Authorities and other city workers made a "site visit" at the business at approximately 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to the release.
"We just received several complaints in the past. That's all we're gonna comment on," said Winchester police Sgt. Frank Myrtle. "It's an ongoing investigation."

No one associated with the spa answered a message left on voice mail at the number listed for the business late Thursday afternoon.

Officials observed and documented several violations of the fire code as well as the city zoning and inspection ordinances, the release states.

City inspectors gave the business 14 days to remedy the violations, Myrtle said. The business did not close, according to Myrtle.

The matter remains under investigation, and Myrtle said police anticipate filing more charges against additional people in the case.

"There could possibly be more people involved," Myrtle said.

Police arrested the women without incident, according to Myrtle. Other employees and clients were in the business at the time officers made the arrests. Investigators interviewed both employees and clients, Myrtle said. Neither a manager nor an owner was at the business, according to Myrtle.

Investigators did not conduct a search warrant or seize any items from the spa, according to Myrtle.

Prostitution, a class 1 misdemeanor, carries a maximum sentence of 12 months in jail.
Between five and 10 representatives with the city police Community Response Team, the fire marshal's office, the Zoning and Inspections Department and the Commissioner of Revenue's Office were involved in the visit.

"It's a lot of resources we have access to when we conduct [the visits]," Myrtle said.
Commissioner of Revenue Ann Burkholder said the spa had a valid business license with the city, signed by Simm Soon Lim. The signer isn't necessarily the owner of the business. However, certain employees in massage parlors and similar businesses must have additional licensure, Burkholder explained. The city requires licenses to perform massages.

Police raided a massage parlor about six years ago after receiving complaints of similar activity at a spa on Valley Avenue. Authorities charged a female employee at the now-closed Valley Massage and Spa with prostitution and another worker with performing massages without a city license. A judge convicted Ok Soon Natz Clanton of prostitution three months after her arrest. Hye Sodk Jeon was convicted of failing to obtain a permit to perform massages. Both women paid fines but received no jail time.

Anyone with information about the Pine Tree Spa investigation is asked to contact Lt. Wally Stotlemyer at 545-4704 or Crime Solvers at 665-TIPS (8477).