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7/15/2015 Illicit M assage Parlor s See New Form Of Cr ackdown « CBS Minnesota http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/05/06/illicitmassagepar lorsseenewformofcr ackdown/3/6 “Some of the tips that come in are legitimate massage therapists who say, ‘I went to this place to get a job, and they started telling me the requirements of the job involved sex trafficking,’” Folkens said. “T hey literally flee the place and call us to let us know.” While experts agree there is very little overlap between legal massage businesses and illegal sex parlors, reputable massage businesses can find themselves listed on crowdsourced websites like Rubmaps and otherwise implicated in the public eye. Jason Erickson, president of the Minnesota chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, said the sexual shadow industry is frightening to trained massage therapists. “They are constantly paranoid they are going to have guys coming in trying to push the boundaries,” he said. A licensing solution Minnesota is one of only six states that leaves licensing of massage therapy businesses to individual cities, and many municipalities require no formal licensure. Minneapolis began licensing its massage businesses for the first time in July 2014 and has already seen success in shutting down illegal parlors without launching fullscale undercover criminal investigations. In less than a year, the city has closed 13 unlicensed businesses, citing four of them for unlawful acts. Minneapolis has plans to expand sex trafficking training to city workers — teaching fire, housing and health inspectors to look out for warning signs, such as beds in commercial businesses. Linda Roberts, the city’s top licensing executive, said that under the new requirements, police can enter any massage business they suspect of involvement in the sex trade. “If you have a massage business, you have to allow an inspection,” she said. “You don’t have to have a search warrant.” Most of the 190 applicants for the license are happy with the new requirements, despite an annual fee of $50 for home businesses and $140 for larger operations. “Professional massage therapists have been working to separate ourselves from being associated with illegitimate and illegal practices for at least 50 years,” Erickson said. F olkens said a number of metro area cities have adopted, or shown interest in adopting, similar licensing policies to Minneapolis. Police have already discovered massage license applicants who were denied but then applied again under a different name. And Folkens said they’re sharing that type of information with neighboring cities. “Whether it’s statewide legislation or individual communities, we’re getting there,” he said. But Erickson, the massage association president, said that piecemeal regulation doesn’t cut it, and without a statewide credential system, illicit parlors can still just move somewhere else. “Being able to establish some type of reasonable control over these illegitimate businesses is a bit like playing Whackamole,” he said. By Zac Farber PROMOTED STORIES LATEST VIDEOS FOLLOW CBS MINNESOTA Follow @WCCO 78.9K followers Follow More Stations and Personalities THE BUZZ FROM WCCO RADIO News Click: All Star Game News Click: George W’s Lucrative Speaking Fee Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl’s Top 5 Kohlrabi Recipes News Click: Sharks In The Outer Banks News Click: Commissioner Pay Raises View Comments119151Share The Awesome World of Rapid City, South Why This Insanely Popular Sweatshirt What Car Ranked As the Best All Wheel OvenBaked Fried Chicken (Recipe) WCCOTV | CBS Minne… 138k likesLike Page B u y T i c k e ts H e a l th Mo r e SearchLOG I N R E G I S T E RFOLLOW U S