(PAINESVILLE, Ohio) — Business and financial records and thousands in cash have been confiscated by law enforcement officers who raided a Mentor-on-the-Lake massage parlor suspected of running a sex-for-pay operation, Attorney General Dave Yost and Lake County Sheriff Frank Leonbruno announced today.
“No licensed, reputable massage business offers sexual services in exchange for money,” Yost said. “Illicit massage parlors are a blight on our communities and will continue to be targets for our human trafficking task forces.”
The Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which is organized under Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Department executed a search warrant yesterday at The Dragon Spa, 5975 Andrews Road. Several individuals working at the business were identified and offered social services.
The task force also searched a second location in the area, a private residence.
“If even one victim of human trafficking can be identified and helped, the operation is a success and worth the effort,” Lake County Chief Deputy Robert Izzo said. “We will continue to work to identify those taking advantage of these victims.”
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information about the business is asked to call the task force tip line at (216) 443-6085.
The raid is among several conducted in recent months by the task force and local law enforcement. In August, four spas in neighboring Lorain and Cuyahoga counties were searched. And, as part of OOCIC’s statewide anti-human trafficking sting in September, Operation Next Door, the task force raided three spas in the greater Cleveland area.
The Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force is led by the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department. It consists of representatives from the Ashtabula County Sheriff's Office, Ashtabula Police Department, Canopy Child Advocacy Center, City of Berea, Cleveland Police Department, Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, Conneaut Police Department, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, East Cleveland Police Department, Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, Harriet Tubman Movement, Homesafe Inc., Lake County Sheriff’s Office, MetroHealth Police Department, Middleburg Heights Police Department, Newburgh Heights Police Department, North Olmsted Police Department, Ohio Investigative Unit, Solon Police Department, Strongsville Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, Warrensville Heights Police Department, Westlake Police Department and Willoughby Police Department.
To report suspected human trafficking in Ohio:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Steve Irwin: 614-728-5417
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