Chester Spa closed following prostitution raid

Chester Township police, with the assistance of Geauga County sheriff's deputies, raided and closed the Ocean Spa and massage parlor Wednesday morning following complaints of possible illegal sex acts taking place there. would be committed.

Complaints about the spa began almost immediately after it opened earlier this year at 12661 Chillicothe Road, less than 100 feet north of City Hall, where Chesterland Safety Town is scheduled to begin Monday.

Chester Township Police Capt. Jeff Sherwood said Friday the complaints involved possible prostitution at the spa.

The investigation was initially assigned to the Northeast Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, made up of federal, state and local agencies investigating sex and labor trafficking cases, Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said. When it became apparent that the investigation was moving slowly, Chester police and the district attorney's office took action.

Flaiz said Chester police conducted undercover surveillance of the business. Subsequently, police interviewed several male customers whose vehicles had been observed in the parking lot. The men were asked if the spa offered more than massage services. None of the men were arrested or arrested.

Armed with a search warrant signed by Chardon Municipal Court Judge Terri Stupica, law enforcement entered the spa around 8:30 a.m. on June 12.

“We executed a search warrant through the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office,” Sherwood said. “No arrests have been made. Two adult women were interviewed as part of our investigation.

Police are expected to issue a statement on Monday, he added.

The women, who spoke no English and were believed to be Chinese nationals, Flaiz said, adding that authorities believed they worked and lived at the spa. He said a representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was present with an interpreter to help question the women.

Additionally, a member of the Harriet Tubman Movement, which works with victims of sex trafficking, was on hand to provide support, Flaiz said.

Also present was Nicholas Burling, chief assistant in the prosecution's criminal division.

Flaiz said business documents and about $10,000 in cash were seized during the raid.

Sherwood, who called the ongoing investigation “sensitive,” and Flaiz both said the investigation would reveal whether the women were victims of sex trafficking or whether they were consenting employees of the spa.

Flaiz stressed that the investigation is ongoing and charges could be filed in the future against those involved.

According to Geauga County land records, the estate of Anthony Notarian owns the approximately 1,100 square foot building.

Chester Township Trustee Mark Purchase said Ziyong Guo and Yuezhen Dhang, doing business as Ocean Spa, Inc., signed the lease with the estate, according to township records.

On March 26, Guo signed and submitted a general use application to the municipality for Ocean Spa to operate a business in a commercial district, Purchase said. The application listed the business address as 149-45 Northern Blvd., #2 West, Flushing, NY. Guo also wrote a check for $150 for the filing fee.

Purchase, who spent his entire 35-year career as a police officer in Chester, including 16 years as police chief, was involved in the 2008 raid that closed the Silver Spa and Salon in massage on Mayfield Road. Four employees, all of Korean origin, were arrested.

Residents of the neighborhood had been complaining about the spa and its customers for several months.

Authorities monitored the Silver Spa for evidence confirming rumors that a person could receive much more than a massage there. The day before the raid, officials questioned seven “regular customers” as they left the spa. Several customers told police the spa offered sex for money in addition to massages.

A few months earlier, Chester Township trustees passed a law requiring massage businesses to be licensed.