The bust of a prostitution ring operating out of massage parlors in East Baton Rouge Parish in January 2022 shined a spotlight on a sprawling underground network with potential ties to human trafficking.
Now Metro Councilman Rowdy Gaudet has proposed an ordinance that he says will take proactive steps to combat illicit massage parlors in the parish.
“Unfortunately the massage establishment industry has built a reputation of sorts because of some of those bad actors,” Gaudet said. “This proposal assists with weeding out bad actors.”
The city-parish already has an ordinance on the books regulating the massage industry, but it hasn’t been updated since at least the 1990s, Gaudet said. Last year’s bust showed illicit massage parlors were slipping through the cracks of state regulation that’s already in place, Gaudet added.
The new proposal, which will come before the council for a public meeting Wednesday, requires prospective massage establishment owners to register with the city-parish Building Official, according to a draft. They must undergo a background check and will not be allowed to operate if they have a felony sex crime conviction on their record, according to a draft.
The registration will allow for city-parish inspectors and police officers to drop in on massage establishments and check for impropriety, like evidence of prostitution or someone living at a business, according to a draft. If a violation is uncovered at a business, the proposal creates an administrative court process that allows the city-parish to shut down a business.
The proposal would also reduce the hours massage establishments can operate in the parish from 8 a.m. to midnight to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to a draft.
Sheri Morris, the attorney for the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy, said the board is broadly supportive of local efforts to assist with weeding out the “bad apples” of the industry. Gaudet consulted with the board on the ordinance.
“The board needs assistance,” Morris said. “We all have to work together to solve the problem that Councilman Gaudet is targeting.”
Still, the state board has some issues with the proposal as written, Morris said.
The registration, which is $100 for a business with one massage therapist and $200 for a business with more than one, is duplicative of fees massage establishments already pay to the state board, Morris said.
The proposal’s required background check also duplicates one mandated by the state board and could pose an undue burden on massage establishments operating ethically.
“There’s a cost to that for people who are running businesses and complying with the law,” Morris said.
In an effort to crack down on illicit parlors, Morris said the board has been focusing on educating state and local law enforcement and providing more resources for law enforcement to easily check if an establishment is registered and compliant.
Bringing awareness to the issue and providing local governments with tools to assist with state regulation is a positive impact of Gaudet’s proposal, Morris said.
“The premise is good, that the city parish is aware of it, their Department of Development is aware of it,” Morris said. “It takes all those eyes to catch one. Sometimes we don’t know an illicit business exists until someone reports one.”
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