CINCINNATI — A Symmes Township massage parlor is shutting down after Hamilton County officials said a woman connected to the business was arrested for promoting prostitution.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office said 45-year-old Yinliu Shi of Flushing, New York, was arrested after a months-long investigation into Sunflower Spa off of Loveland Madeira Road.
The joint effort between the sheriff's Organized Crime Section, the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, the governor's Human Trafficking Task Force, the Ohio Bureau of Investigation, state medical board and Salvation Army led to Shi being charged with three counts of promoting prostitution, four counts of money laundering, one count of telecommunications fraud and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Hamilton County officials did not provide any additional details.
"The Salvation Army was proud to support our law enforcement and other partners in this effort. While we cannot discuss details, our role in these situations focuses on providing care, resources, and trauma-informed support for anyone who may have been at risk of exploitation," the organization said in a statement.
WATCH: Symmes Township leader says spa was a problem for years
"It's about time," said Ceecee Collins, president of the Little Miami River Chamber Alliance.
Collins said she visited the spa shortly after it opened six years ago and immediately had concerns about its legitimacy.
"I went in as soon as I saw they were there, and realized, 'Oh, this isn't your everyday place where you could get stress relief, or an athlete would get a massage.' It's very dark, and a woman on the couch," Collins said. "We welcome all businesses to Loveland. I went in when they first came, and I thought, we do have some great massage businesses, and they do an incredible job. So I went in to welcome them, and quickly found out it wasn't reputable, and we don't want that. We're a family city."
Community members and business owners approached Collins with questions about the establishment over the years, she said.
"I wouldn't say complaints. More of, 'Why is that there? How can we allow that to be there? I saw some things in the back of that building,' comments like that from residents and other business owners, and that concerned me," Collins said.
Collins said she spoke with the police chief at the time about the concerns, and he indicated he would pass the information along.
"It was very suspicious, and they certainly didn't get involved in the community in any way to prove any different than what everyone's suspicions were," Collins said. "Women in the back of the building being dropped off and picked up. Again, doesn't prove anything. But, it adds to kind of that suspicion."
Though authorities have not provided information on the spa's employees or their circumstances, the case highlights a broader issue of sex trafficking that extends far beyond what many people realize, according to advocates who work with victims.
Ohio ranks as one of the top states for the number of calls made to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, according to OhioTurnpike.org. The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 334 cases in Ohio in 2024, involving 509 victims.
"I think there's a lot of confusion around definitions of prostitution or sex trafficking. People just aren't always educated or aware of the difference," said Kelsie Staser, director of all women's programming at Bloc Ministries. "A lot of the market has moved onto online or in these businesses where they can solicit them out of there."
Staser said almost all of the women served at Bloc Ministries' hospitality home are victims of sex trafficking, typically starting between ages 11 and 14.
"Most of our women have been trafficked since they were younger, and so that's not something that they have chosen for their lives. It's just a situation that they've been put in, usually by family members or just from people that are using them for a drug addiction," Staser said.
Bloc Ministries serves 15 to 20 women daily at its Price Hill location.
"So it's just one little pocket of our entire city, and (human trafficking is) all over the city," Staser said. "Ohio's either number four or number five for sex trafficking."
Staser said businesses like massage parlors that profit from trafficking are "gaining off of someone else's trauma." The men purchasing these services frequently include community members, fathers, lawyers and businessmen, Staser said.
"If anyone is gaining anything from them working, that's trafficking," Staser said. "Our women will work early in the morning when men are on their way to work downtown. You want to point fingers at these women who are being trafficked and abused, but they're being purchased by somebody."
Collins said while she's glad to see Sunflower Spa shutter its doors, she's concerned that allegedly similar operations could simply relocate to neighboring communities after being shut down. She believes stronger checks and balances are needed to prevent these businesses from easily establishing operations in new locations.
The Salvation Army said it continues to provide support for trafficking survivors and potential victims.
The Salvation Army's program can be accessed by survivors and the community through their 24-hour hotline at 513-800-1863.
