Wyoming massage parlor searched in human trafficking investigation

ROCK SPRINGS, Wyoming — Employees at a Rock Springs massage parlor are suspected to be victims of human trafficking, according to the Rock Springs Police Department which investigated the claim. 

Officials released the information Tuesday afternoon, after a search warrant was served on the massage parlor. Rock Springs is approximately 185 miles east of Salt Lake City.

The warrant comes after a months-long investigation by the  Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office into suspected human trafficking at the Wyoming massage parlor.

“We believe the masseuses and others working there are trafficking victims forced or otherwise coerced to perform labor,” wrote Rock Springs Police Department spokesperson Jason Mower in a press release, adding, “including sex acts, as part of a larger network of organized criminal enterprise possibly operating throughout the region.”

The massage parlor is in the 600 block of Broadway, in Rock Springs.

These types of businesses can operate in plain sight all across the United States wrote Rock Springs Police Lt. Michelle Hall.

“Unfortunately, many of those engaged in commercial sex as part of these types of operations are actually labor and sex trafficking victims,” Hall wrote in a press release.

Despite the warrant and the lengthy investigation into suspected human trafficking at the Wyoming location, Sweetwater County officials have made no arrests. They continue to investigate.

Anybody with information is asked to contact Lt. Hall at 307-922-5331.

The Utah angle:

• Anti-human trafficking organization receives $900,000 grant
• Herriman man in violent relationship accused of human trafficking
• Navajo Nation hosts Human Trafficking Awareness Walk

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