COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein is shutting down a north Columbus massage parlor amid concerns of human trafficking.
Early Friday afternoon, law enforcement, armed with a court-ordered nuisance abatement, began boarding up East Wind Massage at 6815 Flags Center Drive.
Court complaints obtained by 10TV reveal police first received a tip from a concerned citizen last June.
The tipster told authorities they observed a woman tending to a small garden outside the business. The caller said the woman was scantily dressed and wearing fishnet stockings. The same tipster reported observing a woman working at the front desk of the massage parlor wearing only a red bra.
The Columbus Division of Police said between February 6, 2016, and October 31, 2017, investigators discovered 13 online posts “referencing availability of sexual conduct in exchange for money” at the massage parlor.
Police said they took action in December and sent nuisance abatement warning letters to the corporation.
The investigation escalated in March when the complaint indicates undercover officers paid cash for a massage. Investigators reported the female employees performed sexual activity.
Assistant Columbus City Attorney, Bill Sperlazza, said women forced into prostitution at massage parlors have no way out.
"Once they find themselves in America they are essentially trapped in this business, in this world, and they don't have a lot of help," said Sperlazza.
10TV has learned the Human Trafficking Coalition and the Salvation Army are on site because of concerns by law enforcement that some of the women employed at East Wind could be victims of human trafficking. Columbus City Attorney, Zach Klein, said it's not an isolated case.
Klein said about 20-property owners across the city of Columbus have received nuisance abatement warning letters informing them that investigators have found evidence of prostitution and suspected human trafficking at massage parlor tenants. Klein said 10-property owners responded by evicting those tenants.
Klein said his office is shutting down East Wind because the city won't tolerate businesses serving as fronts for criminal enterprise.
"Whether you're a drug house, convenient store, whether you're a hotel or you're a massage parlor, if you're doing illegal criminal activity in our community we do not want you here," said Klein. “We hope today’s court order sends a strong message to other operators in the city who may be engaging in illicit activity that this is the first case of its kind, but it may not be the last."
The hearing for preliminary and permanent injunctive relief is scheduled for 11 a.m. on May 4.