US investigators urge Chinese masseuse to say she was trafficked as they try to crack high-profile prostitution case
- Authorities are trying to prove that owners of five massage parlours raided by officers are not just pimps, but human traffickers
- Crackdown drew international attention when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with paying for sex
The Chinese masseuse shrinks into her chair as the Florida sheriff’s detective tells her deputies installed hidden cameras in her spa’s ceiling. He knows she and other women had sex with men for money.
But you can save yourself, Martin County Detective Mike Fenton and others tell her. We will give you an apartment. We will provide food and education. We will bring your children to the United States.
Just tell us you are a human trafficking victim and testify against your captors.
Over four hours, the masseuse would see three investigators, two social workers and a translator. A video recording of her interview was obtained by Associated Press through a public records request. AP is not naming the woman because she might be a victim of a sex crime.
The outcome of her interview would help determine whether Martin County could prove the owners of five massage parlours its deputies raided are not just pimps, but human traffickers holding women against their will.
The operation was part of a multicounty crackdown that drew international attention when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with paying for sex in neighbouring Palm Beach County, one of 300 men overall.