Ten arrested in massage parlor sting

Ellen McCarty

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- Responding to reports of strange activity at the Pain,

Rehab & Wellness Center at 17922 Magnolia Ave., police have arrested 10

subjects in connection with a prostitution operation, Lt. Paul Sorrell

said.

Four women and six men were arrested Oct. 29. One woman was arrested a

second time on Nov. 11.

Three undercover officers began monitoring the office in late September,

and all were offered various sex services from unlicensed massage

therapists, Sorrell said.

“Usually at a chiropractor’s office, the chiropractor will evaluate you

before prescribing a massage therapist,” Sorrell said. “These men were

coming to the office day and night and brought to back rooms just to see

the massage therapists. They never had appointments with the

chiropractors.”

According to police records, the office has two licensed chiropractors

who serve as a facade for four unlicensed female therapists in the

office. They performed sex services under the guise of a $45 massage,

Sorrell said.

The police officers noted a large amount of foot traffic, even after the

office officially closed.

The city’s municipal code governs the operation of massage parlors, but

not chiropractors’ or physicians’ offices, so police carefully documented

their investigation before serving the Oct. 29 search warrant.

Minh Thuy Thi Nguy, 36, of Westminster, was arrested on three counts of

prostitution. Laura Loan Ho, 29, and Van Thuy Nguyen, 19, both of Garden

Grove, were cited for not having a massage technician’s license.

Kim Hoa Christine Huynh, 33, of Westminster, was arrested for failure to

possess an operating permit. Each was arrested and released on a

citation, Sorrell said.

Once the warrant was served, police took over office operations for eight

hours and arrested men who solicited prostitution.

When the police department reopened the office, they used undercover

female officers who posed as massage technicians.

Of the eight men who visited the office later, six were arrested for

soliciting sex acts from the officers, Sorrell said.

David Clark, 35, of Trabuco Canyon, David Clifton, 41, of Stanton,

Charles Hooper, 47, of Huntington Beach, Richard Moldowski, 48, of Laguna

Beach, Brian Newman, 33, of Mission Viejo and Atulkumar Patel, 39 of

Westminster, were all arrested and released on citation, Sorrell said. On

Nov. 11, undercover officers observed the same activity at the office and

arrested Huynh again, this time for soliciting prostitution.

“Many cities in Orange County have dealt with this issue,” Sorrell said.

“As the pressure heats up in other jurisdictions, these people keep

moving to new cities. Prostitution isn’t a rampant problem in Fountain

Valley, but we address it as it comes up.”