THE CASE AGAINST USING RUBBERS

Condom-Clogged Pipe Busts Prostitution Ring

By Mark D. Wilson

Austin American-Statesman
April 12, 2017

AUSTIN, Texas -- Austin police said they uncovered a prostitution ring at a Northwest Austin massage parlor after a waste pipe at the business became clogged and destroyed by hundreds of condoms, according to an arrest affidavit filed on Tuesday.

The affidavit said police were tipped off about possible prostitution on Feb. 7 from a realty company that had recently taken over a property in a local neighborhood.

One of the tenants of the property was listed as Jade Massage Therapy LLC.

The affidavit said several other tenants had expressed concerns that prostitution may have been going on at the business, and that an industrial disposal unit connecting the property to the city’s sewer service was found clogged with condoms.

Austin police Human Trafficking and Vice Unit Sgt. Kevin Covington said the clogged disposal system was one of several pieces of evidence that led to the bust.

“I was like, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me,’” he said. “It’s not the normal tip you would get, or lead you would get on a place committing criminal activity, but it happened, so that helped us out.”

Investigators identified the owners of the business as a woman named Juan Wang and her husband, Joseph Emery.

Two days before officers received the tip relating to the clogged pipe, Wang was stopped by security at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport with $30,000 in cash wrapped up in several duct-taped bundles, the document said.

She told police she had saved the money for a medical procedure in China, and that the money came from Jade Massage, the affidavit said.

According to the document, Wang estimated that she made about $20,000 there each year.

“When (an officer) pointed out that she was carrying in excess of a year’s worth of income Wang became visibly nervous and had difficulty answering further questions,” the affidavit said.

Wang gave police a contact number and was allowed to board a plane to China, the document said.

Investigators found that the number was tied to a Backpage.com account that had apparent advertisements for “Jade Massage” for sexual services at a second location, according to the affidavit.

On March 22, Austin police executed search warrants at the address and found Wang in a room with a naked man, the affidavit said.

Another woman was also found in a separate room with a naked man, according to the report.

Wang and Emery face charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and money laundering, the affidavit said.

Neither was listed in custody at the Travis County Jail on Tuesday morning.