A woman accused of running a brothel through human trafficking in Lycoming County waived her right to a preliminary hearing last week.
Xia Sun, 42, of Philadelphia, operated Jia Yuan Spa at 440 Broad St. in Montoursville, which advertised for masseuses but never employed any licensed ones and wasn’t licensed to operate as a business either, according to an arrest affidavit.
One woman who worked as a prostitute told police she and others were held there “against their will.”
“Threats were made toward them if they attempted to leave or said they did not want to provide sexual services to ‘clients,’” Montoursville Deputy Police Chief Clinton Gardner wrote in the arrest affidavit. “They also stated that their pay was threatened to be withheld, and that their documents such as passport and IDs were also withheld from them. Last(ly), they were told to recruit young girls as the ‘clients’ like ‘new, young girls.’”
Sun is charged with two counts of trafficking in individuals, six counts of conspiring to traffic individuals, five counts of promoting prostitution, three counts of conspiring to promote prostitution, one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities (the trafficking), one count of involuntary servitude, one count of conspiracy toward involuntary servitude, one count of criminal use of a communication facility and one count of conspiring in unlawful conduct regarding documents (withholding passports and IDs).
Sun is free on $10,000 bail. With the waiving of her right to a preliminary hearing, the case moves to the county court of common pleas for a formal arraignment Aug. 25.
Customer turned on Sun
Police learned about the brothel May 2 from an anonymous source who confirmed paying $140 for oral sex that day and six months earlier, according to the affidavit. The source “discovered the spa" through a website, and arranged an appointment via cell phone.
“The source described two separate Asian women performing the acts,” the affidavit says.
Neighbors reported visitors at all hours and seeing one man leaving with his pants still down.
Armed with a search warrant, police raided the business May 2. They found two Asian females and a naked male and $660 in a Cheerios cereal box, which was next to a freeze-dried apples box containing condoms.
“Condoms were recovered throughout the brothel in various common areas,” the affidavit says. “A transaction ledger was recovered as were documents reflecting consistent bank deposits. Credit card receipts were also recovered. Lubricants which were described by the source were present within the brothel.”
Police also seized a bank account in Sun’s name containing about $7,500. Bank employees told police she visited the bank several times a month and withdrew cash. Sun also wrote checks in similar amounts to limited liability companies whose background is largely unknown, police said.
