Police shut down parlor for alleged prostitution

By Debbie Glover
St. Tammany News
Published on Saturday, November 14, 2009 2:44 PM CST



A month-long undercover operation by the Covington Police Department’s Street Crime Unit came to a close Thursday night with the arrest of three women at the Sunshine Therapy Massage Parlor at 2600 U. S. Highway 190 Suite 1 for suspected prostitution.

A tip to police resulted in the investigation, which culminated in the arrests and revocation of the business’ license about 6 p.m. Thursday.

Arrested in the undercover operation were:

(Use arrows above to view more photos)

Deng Xiacohuan, 45, charged with keeping a disorderly place;

Xin Hua Xiong, aka “Lucy,” 52, charged with RS 14:83.3 prostitution by massage; and Li Xiuzhi, aka “Wendy,” 43, charged with one count of massage sexual conduct prohibited RS 14:83.4 and one count prostitution by massage RS 14:83.3. All three give their address as 75134 Louisiana Highway 25 Covington.

CPD spokesman Capt. Jack West said that investigators seized the business’s records, which were written in Chinese and are in the process of having the materials translated.

No other arrests were made in conjunction with the business.

All three women were arrested without incident, booked and released on summons.


Comments

6 comment(s)

    amcit wrote on Nov 23, 2009 11:11 AM:

    " The CPD acted apprpriately. Lets hope this action results in these women getting legitimate jobs, and the men who frequented this establishment chose to stay home with thier families instead of going to this place. Truth is those poor womens were probably working off excessive monies owed to human traffickers who exploit imigrants trying to reach this country. "

    teresa wrote on Nov 21, 2009 10:03 PM:

    " I'm very curious how these women managed to commit prostitution all by themselves.

    Seems to me that there must have been some customers involved, likely male. Why has none of the men been arrested? "

    MsG wrote on Nov 19, 2009 6:18 PM:

    " A crime is a crime.Last time I checked prostitution is against the law. If you want to buy sex go ta Vegas I dont think its agaisnt the law there. "

    Chrissy wrote on Nov 18, 2009 10:30 AM:

    " You are right, Greg. Shouldn't our officers be staking out somewhere else instead of watching these women for a month? I dont agree with it, but "prostitution" has been around for so long. There's no way to stop it. "

    Greg Denn wrote on Nov 17, 2009 6:59 PM:

    " Isn't there bigger things that the police should be working on than some massage therapist giving a happy ending? "

    AMCIT wrote on Nov 17, 2009 2:47 PM:

    " We are a lot safer in our community thanks to the Covington police department. Thanks for taking these criminals off the street. "

WRITE A COMMENT

Use the form below to post a brief comment to this story, or respond to other readers. Please use the word count tool to assist you in keeping your remarks to 100 words or fewer.

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. They review submitted comments periodically during the day for offensive or off-topic content before posting. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The St. Tammany News is not liable for messages from third parties.

DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
* Personal Information (phone numbers, addresses, etc.)

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in thesttammanynews.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the St. Tammany News. The St. Tammany News does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized St. Tammany News spokespersons.

Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated.

(optional)
Current Word Count: