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Somerset woman charged with human trafficking, prostitution at massage parlor
Yuehong Wang, 53, lived and worked at Lotus Flower Body Works on Grand Army Highway in Somerset.
A woman associated with a spa in Somerset is facing charges related to human trafficking and prostitution, local police announced.
Yuehong Wang, 53, lived and worked at Lotus Flower Body Works on Grand Army Highway in Somerset, according to police. Wang is facing charges of trafficking a person for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, two counts of sexual conduct for a fee, aiding and permitting a nuisance, and keeping a house of ill fame, which refers to a brothel or prostitution house.
Wang pleaded not guilty in Fall River District Court. Attorney information for her was not immediately available.
As a tenant, Wang is also facing a civil suit from the owner of the building to evict her.
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Local police worked with special agents with the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, based in Newport, Rhode Island on the investigation, which “stemmed from concerns of possible human trafficking taking place at the business,” police said.
Police searched the spa, where investigators seized $51,444 in cash “along with numerous ledgers and other items of evidentiary value related to the ongoing criminal enterprise,” the department said.
Somerset police thanked NCIS agents and Plymouth Police Officer Fuming Chen for translation services. Police also said there is “an associated location” in Tyngsborough, where police launched a parallel investigation after working with Somerset detectives.
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Tynsborough police did not return a request for comment Thursday.
A previous version of this article incorrectly reported on details of the civil court case.
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