Cobb County

Undercover agents crack down on 2 Cobb County massage parlors after complaints from neighbors

By Michele Newell
By Michele Newell

KENNESAW, Ga. — Two massage parlors in Cobb County are at the center of an investigation.

Police cracked down on Jasmine Massage in Smyrna and Dijuan Massage in Kennesaw after they received complaints from people who live nearby and nearby businesses. Law enforcement agencies across the county worked together to crack down on both businesses.

Channel 2′s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was in Kennesaw with what tipped law enforcement off to start with.

“We believe that they are operating illegally and we are seeking to have them shut down by the business license division. I do believe Kennesaw already has a hearing set up for this particular business to decide if they are going to revoke their license or not and Smyrna will go through the same process,” said Dan Ferrell, Deputy Chief of Special Investigations for the Cobb County Police department.

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An employee from Jasmine Massage and an employee from Dijuan Massage are accused of offering undercover agents sexual favors in exchange for money.

Both employees were arrested and charged and eventually bonded out.

“Is this an organized crime business? Is this a rogue employee in a legitimate massage therapy center that just decided to do this on their own? Or are the employees being used to make a profit for the business?” said Ferrell.

Ferrell says these kinds of investigations involve several layers and take time.

“For most people, they only see the very surface of what’s going on and they look at this as an individual act. If you dig deeper into the background, like how did she arrive here? Did she have a choice in doing what she was doing? I think a lot of times if you dig deeper you will probably find that many of them are here and don’t feel they have a choice other than to do what they are told,” said Ferrell.

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Newell asked police what could happen to the owners of Jasmine Massage and Dijuan Massage if the businesses shut down.

“If we can tie it back to show that the owner was sponsoring this activity, that the owner was making a profit from this activity, then the owner can be charged,” said Ferrell.

Cobb County Commissioner Monique Sheffield says she is happy police are cracking down and understands an even larger issue at hand.

“This has been an issue that Cobb County dealt with in the past. It dissipated but now it’s popping up again and I can only connect that to human trafficking. It’s a growing concern not just in Cobb County but across the nation and that concern is the human trafficking piece. A lot of the workers there, may have been trafficked themselves and they are in a situation that they don’t see a way out of, I’m really glad that the county is putting some force behind cracking down on these places. It’s very disturbing to me. I’m really glad they are putting the resources behind closing these locations but even into having broader conversations around sex and human trafficking.”

—  Cobb County District 4 Commissioner Monique Sheffield

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The Founder of 4 Sarah, is a human trafficking advocate who helps victims get out of bad situations. She says she tries to help girls that work in massage parlors and are being trafficked.

She recalls one story involving a woman who was in a rough situation.

“She was stuck into her life because she couldn’t get an ID she couldn’t get a social security card so she was kind of forced into that lifestyle to stay in it and that is very common with a lot of the girls that are in massage parlors,” said Kasey McClure who is the Founder of 4 Sarah.

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