9/22/2015 – OKC, OK — A massage parlor near south Oklahoma City’s notorious street prostitution district is targeted by OKC police – resulting in one arrest, after a 58-year-old female masseuse offered an undercover officer a ‘happy ending.’
JohnTV has long been suspicious of the OK Massage Spa ever since they opened in the I-35 Travel Plaza on the northwest corner of SE 44 and S. I-35 – 1317 SE 44th St. to be exact.
OK Massage Spa in the I-35 Travel Plaza (Google Street View)
This location is very near several low rent motels along I-35 known for their persistent presence of drug dealers, women engaged in prostitution, pimps and even instances of human trafficking and violence.
The OK Massage and Spa is also only a few blocks east of the highest concentration of street prostitutes in the metro and the city’s infamous S. Robinson Ave. stroll.
According to court records, on Sept. 1 an undercover officer with the Oklahoma City Vice Unit entered the establishment around 5 p.m. and “requested a 30-minute and paid the posted $40 for the massage.”
The officer was then escorted to a back room where he undressed and proceeded to enjoy his tax-payer funded back rub.
At some point, according to the probable cause affidavit, “the female offered to masterbate the officer.”
The now naked undercover officer gave the takedown signal (that we are going to pretend was, “help, this old lady is touching my junk!”) and additional officers entered the business and placed the woman under arrest.
The masseuse has been identified as Chun Sin Pannell, 58, of San Jose, CA.
Pannell was booked into the Oklahoma County jail on a prostitution complaint and a $500 bond.
No other criminal history for Pannell could be found.
Last Thursday Pannell was formerly charged in Oklahoma County with misdemeanor offering to engage in an act of prostitution.
By law, if convicted, Pannell faces 30-365 days in jail and/or a fine up to $2,500 and between 40-80 hours of community service. The courts are also obligated to “notify the county superintendent of public health of such conviction.”
Because the law and reality rarely line-up in Oklahoma County, Pannell is probably actually only facing a deferred sentence (probation – no conviction) and a tiny fine. Oh yeah, and she’ll probably be under “DA supervised probation” – which simply means she has to pay Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater’s own version of a ‘pimp tax’ ($40/month).
That fact is probably why the owners of the OK Massage and Spa feel no need to lay low or stay off the radar following this most recent bust – as evident in the five high profile ads (complete with video) the business placed on Backpage.com just a week after Pannell’s arrest (see ad below)….
A couple of things…..
First, OK Massage Spa should have been charged with ‘false advertising’ as the ad above clearly states “guaranteed to be even prettier.”
Second, this arrest starts a conversation on a controversial subject… On the one hand you’ve got those that would argue this is a colossal waste of tax dollars – stings involving multiple officers making $60,000+ a year who spend their day getting tax-payer funded massages in hopes of being offered hand-jobs or more from women working behind closed doors of their own free will. Not to mention none of that cost is ever recouped after an arrest and the costs to tax-payers only grows as individuals are booked into jail, provided a public defender and take up time within our court system.
On the other hand you’ve got the reality that many people involved in prostitution are not doing so of their own free will and how is law enforcement to uncover those instances of prostitution without targeting all prostitution? *FYI – JohnTV can’t recall a single case in Oklahoma County of human trafficking that resulted from a massage parlor bust.
If you’ve got the answer, we’d love to hear it.