LAKE FOREST
The owner of a massage parlor has sued the city for failing to respond to the business’ request for a license.
The Body Centre on El Toro Road applied for a massage permit in June. Owner Christine Bui Vo charges in the suit that the city failed to respond to the application within 60 days, as required by the city’s Municipal Code.
City Atty. Greg Diaz said the city is still waiting for the results of a mandatory state background check on Vo.
“We don’t have a basis to issue or deny [a permit] yet,” Diaz said.
Vo and her lawyer were unavailable for comment Wednesday.
The business opened earlier this year without a license, Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials said.
The Body Centre also has been the focus of an ongoing Sheriff’s Department vice squad investigation, Sgt. J.B. Davis said.
Three female employees were arrested in October at the parlor and charged with solicitation of prostitution and practicing massage without a license, Davis said.
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