Police raid massage parlor block from Wis. capitol in prostitution investigation
TODD RICHMOND Associated Press Writer | 2:04 p.m. CDT, October 20, 2010
[url]http://www.fox6now.com/news/sns-ap-wi--massageparlor,0,2756062.story[/url]
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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police have raided a massage parlor a block from the Wisconsin Capitol building.
The Madison Police Department issued a statement saying officers executed a search warrant at the Rising Sun massage parlor around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Detectives were gathering evidence in a prostitution investigation.
The statement says an investigation into a 2008 sexual assault of a 5-year-old Madison girl on the city's east side led Madison police, state agents and federal agents to the Rising Sun.
The statement does not elaborate, saying court documents in the case have been sealed for three months. Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain declined comment.
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Police raid Rising Sun massage parlor
By DAN SIMMONS | [email]dsimmons@madison.com[/email] | 608-252-6136 madison.com | Posted: Wednesday, October 20, 2010 5:45 pm
[url]http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_2960a6f2-dc7e-11df-88b1-001cc4c002e0.html[/url]
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Madison police served a search warrant at a massage parlor a block from the Wisconsin Capitol building Wednesday morning, collecting evidence and questioning three people in what was described as an ongoing prostitution probe.
Officials in at least three squad cars and two white vans arrived at about 11:20 a.m. at the Rising Sun massage parlor at 117 W. Main St., according to police and neighbors.
"We saw them go by the front window and ran out to see what the deal was," said Amy Jones, who works at the Paradise Lounge, a bar next door. "The police told us to get back inside."
Two women and a man present at the second-story business were taken by police for questioning but none was charged in relation to the investigation as of Wednesday afternoon, said police spokesman Joel DeSpain. One of the women was being held in connection with an unrelated warrant in another county, he said.
Investigators with the Madison police and state Department of Justice remained at the business through the afternoon, at one point loading multiple bags marked "evidence" into a police van. One bag appeared to contain pillows, Jones said, but the others were zipped shut.
DeSpain said the investigation follows on evidence gleaned from a 2008 case in which a 28-year-old female employee of Rising Sun was charged with failing to stop the alleged sexual assault of her 6-year-old daughter by a then-84-year-old customer, Robert E. Marek of Madison. Marek was convicted of two felony counts of sexual assault of a child in the case for allegedly fondling the girl while caring for her at his home as her mother, who police allege worked as a prostitute, was out with other customers, according to a criminal complaint.
The woman was not named by the Wisconsin State Journal to protect the identity of her daughter.
DeSpain didn't elaborate on the connection between the two cases, saying court documents in the case have been sealed for three months.
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Police raid massage parlor in downtown Madison
By TODD RICHMOND | Associated Press Writer | 6:28 p.m. CDT, October 20, 2010
[url]http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-massageparlor,0,6997616.story[/url]
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MADISON, Wis. —
Police searching for evidence in a prostitution investigation raided a massage parlor in downtown Madison on Wednesday.
Officers entered the Rising Sun massage parlor around 11:30 a.m., Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain said in a statement. They found three people in the business, a man and two women, DeSpain told The Associated Press by phone.
One of the women was arrested on a warrant from another county, DeSpain said, although he didn't have any further details. Asked what happened to the man and woman, he said only, "The case is ongoing as we speak. It's a very fluid situation."
Andre Jackson, 42, lives in an apartment two doors down from the Rising Sun. He visited the massage parlor once to find out what it was about, he said, but left after a woman there solicited him for sex.
"One of the girls was like, $150. I turned around. I don't need no trouble," he said. "Everybody knows what that place is for."
The raid stemmed from an investigation into the sexual assault of a 5-year-old girl on Madison's east side in 2008, the statement said. It did not elaborate and DeSpain said records linked to the case surrounding Wednesday's raid have been sealed for 90 days.
Police declined to specify which 2008 case was tied to Wednesday's raid.
However, Dane County court records show that an 84-year-old man named Robert E. Marek was charged in 2008 with sexually assaulting the 5-year-old daughter of a woman he contacted through an escort ad. The woman had worked at Rising Sun, the records indicate.
The woman was charged with causing mental harm to a child and trying to extort money from Marek to remain quiet about what was done to her daughter, according to the records. The Associated Press doesn't identify victims of sexual crimes and is not reporting the woman's name to protect her daughter's identity.
Marek was convicted of two counts of 1st degree sexual assault of a child and sentenced in March 2009 to two years in prison. A jury last October acquitted the woman of the extortion count but convicted her of causing her daughter mental harm. A judge gave her to three years in prison but stayed the sentence in lieu of six months in jail and four years on probation.
The woman was charged in June with misdemeanor prostitution. She was ordered not to be at the Rising Sun or work for any massage parlor as a condition of bond.
Her attorney in that case, Reed Cornia, and her attorney in the 2008 case, Charles Giesen, didn't immediately respond to after-hours phone messages Wednesday.
The Rising Sun is wedged between two bars in a row of two-story buildings about a block from the state Capitol. Worn video cameras were perched over the doorway on Wednesday. A call to a number on the establishment's sign rang through to an answering machine. A recorded voice said the parlor was open from 10 a.m. until 2:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and from noon to 1 a.m. on Sundays and charged $70 for 40 minutes and $90 for an hour. No one immediately returned a message.
Tax records indicate a real estate agent named Larry Lichte owns the property. He declined comment when reached by phone on Wednesday afternoon.
Amy Jones, a 28-year-old waitress at the Paradise Lounge, next door to the Rising Sun, said she saw a SWAT team march by the windows around noon, although DeSpain said the officers were not a tactical team. Police told her to go back inside, she said.
"It's like the quietest place on the block," Jones said.
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Where does all the money go?
Looking through old quotes and this one caught my eye. Biggest mysterie of the hoe world, Where does the money go? LMAO I some times wonder the same thing. Of course you have your questionable girls out there who have habits, and are not worried about any thing but buying a new outfit and going out that coming weekend. But please try to remember there are woman out there, like me, who are trying to do some thing with there life. I was unfortunate about 6 years ago now and my house burnt down. I had to start over again at 24. New beds furniture clothing all of it. I struggled for 4 years trying to get back the things that I had lost. And two years ago I started working at a legal brothel in Nevada. My life has completely changed. I am able to provide the things I need to my family and we are able to enjoy life. I realized real quick while working in the brothel that my job was not always about the freaky the flexable and the fake boobs! It was about companionship. And having someone you connect with. And not Always so much about the money. You make friends in this business. So where does the money go? Well if she's got all her teeth then there is a strong chance she might be trying to open up a small business. So it don't have to be late nights and hotel rooms anymore. JUST A THOUGHT Belladonna.
[QUOTE=Permanent Wood;1052808]How about some investigative reporting to unmask one of the biggest mysteries of the "Hoe world." What the fuck do these providers do with all their fuckin' money????[/QUOTE]
Getting the police involved
Details (from a few months ago)
[Quote]In the eyes of the 22-year old customer, he had just been victimized in a classic bait-and-switch, paid for services not rendered, and he reached out to police to make him whole again.
When an officer arrived in the early morning hours of September 23rd, the young man explained about how he had used the internet to find an 'escort, ' that he understood the $200 price to include 'everything, and that – in the end – he did not get 'everything. ' He did get something, but was told 'everything' would actually be another $100.
He told the woman he had no more money, and that he now wanted his $200 back because she had not lived up to the terms of the contract.
The man said the woman was thin, blonde, and about 5'6'. She brought with her, to his residence, a second woman who he described as also being blond and 5'6. ' However, he said the second woman was considerably heavier that the 'escort. ' He put her weight at 300 lbs, and said she was likely the 'escort's' director of security.
The officer asked the man if he knew prostitution was illegal. He said he knew that. The officer asked if he knew he had paid for a prostitute. He said he knew that. The officer then inquired as to whether he would call the police when he knew he had just committed a crime.
The man said he works hard for his money, and he felt the MPD would get his payment back for him.
The officer said he would investigate to see if he could identify the prostitute, but also explained to the man that he would not get his money back, even if recovered, since it was used in order to commit a crime.
The officer was unable to find the 'escort' using information supplied by the victim.
In the end, it may have been an expensive double lesson for the 22-year old. Not only was he out his initial $200, but he also was left with a $681 Loitering for Purposes of Soliciting Prostitutes ticket.
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Yeah, Loitering in his own house?
[QUOTE=Too Nice;1382983]How the hell does Madison make a loitering charge stick in a case like this?[/QUOTE]I don't know. I wouldn't think it would. It seems like it would have to be investigated and proved or at least corroborated by another person. The cop said he would try to find the alleged hooker but admitted he didn't succeed.