Etown MP scene in 2009: trends.

[sdbolt07]

Who are the next most likely targets for LE and BLE??

That would depend on many factors:

* Which establishment(s) gets the most complaints?
* Which ones are the easiest to go after?
* Which ones are without the legal and financial resources to fight it?
* The ones who do not have a positive "working relationship" with the authorities.?
* Who is doing the complaining, and against whom? Are the studio owners going to do a solidarity thing, or will some do "selective" complaints against certain competitors??
* Like the cab companies, how many studios does the city wish to have a licence cap for?
* Which ones have a Male owner? easier for PR to bust those..
* Asian Massage Parlors..vulnerable enough? No one likely to stir up trouble if these were targeted??
* Asian Micros..easy enough targets, no PR fallout,
* CL girls..doubtful..
* Visiting escorts..hmmm...do they go after the girls, or the Agency??

Food for thought, i guess..

 

[Kim M]

Ha ha ha.

Yeh you definitely don't want to have to explain to your loved ones, work colleagues, boss and friends why your name is in the local paper as being a "found in" in a local bawdy house bust or worse yet also charged with sexual assault in the same bust.

Chatter on the same topic on the other board kinda leaning towards this having a chilling effect on the other MP's business...at least for a day or two.

My personal view is that the local massage parlors have always operated at the discretion of local authorities. If they really wanted to go after them as bawdy houses they could do so.

They know full well the scoop on what's really going on, but as long as MP's flew under the radar so to speak with no complaints from the public, Audrey Jensen excepted, or problems with other ancilliary crime i.e. drug dealing, robbery etc. then it was "live and let live".

Just think back a couple of years ago when there was as issue with some of the gals photos on the websites being too explicit, bylaw just went around and gave the owners a friendly "suggestion" to tone things down so the "goods" on offer were not quite as obvious.

This enlightened approach has worked very well for a number of years to the benefit of all, obviously the MP's, girls and pooners but also to the City by providing a safe and controllable environment for the "oldest" profession with enforcement by City Bylaws.

The police had to go after Vish based on the complaint against him and rightfully so. His bust, charges and conviction raised the visibillity of the studios and the stakes for all sides. Peter's bust has put the studios back on the radar. One shady, exploitive operator has gone to jail and if convicted another will follow. No loss.

Hopefully the well managed and responsible operators will not be penalized for the actions of a couple of bad apples. The obvious solution to me is to formally legalize brothels as several other jurisdictions around the world have done but I am not naive enough to believe this is tenable in Alberta.

Unfortunately the possible fall-out is that any disgruntled party, owner, girl, customer, moral crusader driving by on Sunday afternoon can register a complaint and make more trouble.

In any event I can see being a bit circumspect about visiting any studio for the next month or two until this issue, hopefully, slips below the radar again.

So that's my nickel's worth which of course in combination with a token will obtain the holder a rider on the subway.

 

[tanaz]

Legalising brothels in Alberta, besides being incredibly unlikely in the most socially conservative Canadian province, would not stop the issue of MP's being charged with bawdy house crimes. That law is federal, and as such supercedes any provincial laws. California had a similar issue with medicinal marijuana laws, the state legalised marijuana use with a prescription, but you could (and many were) still be charged under federal narcotics laws. It just caused confusion among the people and did nothing to bring about any real change.

 

[Pompal 09.]

In the event of a studio being "busted", authorities would go after the owners for operating a common bawdy house, and living off the avails of prostitution..that's a given.

But, in the case of the girls working at a studio/escort location/micro, what can they be "busted" for??

And in the event of a bust on either a studio or visiting escort or a micro, can the client be charged also? If so, on what grounds, if prostitution is legal between 2 consenting adults and behind closed doors, in private..?

 

[Magic But Mediocre]

In answer to the question, the essence of the charges that exist in Canada are:

1) Living off the avails of prostitution (the "pimping" law).

2) Communicating for the purpose of prostitution in a public place (this is aimed at stopping "streetwalking").

3) Operating or being "found in" a common bawdy house. A "bawdy house" is definied as "a place that is kept or occupied, or resorted to by one or more persons, for the purpose of prostitution or to practice acts of indecency".

So long as all discussion takes place in a private room, the last of these is the only one that may expose the customer to a criminal charge if the place at which the customer is going to can be shown to be a "common bawdy house" (this could be a private residence (if it is being used repeatedly by the person operating the service) or a Massage Parlour whether it is licensed by the City or not).

The interesting issue is why they are targeting the MP places. I suspect it has to do with the types of owner and not the businesses as such but who knows. The fact is that before these places existed the business still operated but the streets were filled with ladies and it was significantly more dangerous for them. The Asian micros are no safer or less safe, for the customer in terms of a criminal charge, than the MP but the police may have less information on them due to lack of licensing information. However, if I were to guess I would think that the police would be more inclined to go after the unlicensed Asian micros (due to the lack of licensing and the higher likelihood of the ladies being part of a "trafficing" network) than the MP businesses owned by the ladies themselves, but again who knows what is really driving these recent events.

 

[Pompal 09.]

Thanks stew..looks like Venus might be the next possible candidate, if we can judge conditions there by an SP's tale today.

Venus only escaped LE's bust because Peter sold it recently to some female owners..

 

[Eleni]

There has to be more to the story. MPs have been around for a long time while the authorities have looked the other way (and partaken themselves). There's been plenty of incriminating evidence on the escort review boards for the past 10 years. And why bust these particular MPs and not the top end places like Legends and Revive? Hell, the Legends website used to scream sexual activity until bylaw asked them to tone down their content but they weren't raided and shutdown. All this leads me to think that fears of a mass crackdown/shutdown on MPs are unfounded.

 

[.:daisy:.]

Good point, got to get Harpo and crew on side or maybe that could be a plank in Iggy's platform. He'd get the pooner vote.

 

[Cy impres]

It's a known fact that some MPs levy fines against the girls for things such as being late or missing shifts..

With the crackdown now on MPs in Etown, this practice may need to be eliminated in light of this aspect of law:

"Exercising control, direction or influence -- s.212 (1) (h):
Another form of pimping or extorting vulnerable people. If someone exercises control, direction, and influence on where a Sex Trade Worker goes and who a Sex Trade Worker goes with they are committing an illegal act. Escort agencies and massage parlours can be prosecuted under this law. The only way an escort agency or massage parlour can avoid breaking this law is if they allow the escort or masseuse to decide if they want to go to a date without penalizing them for refusing."


It's quite possible that LE could interpret fines by the MPs on the girls to be Exercising Control, Direction or Influence...

 

[unboundedjoy]

Gents,

The most probable scenario developing for the next busts is probably:

* Asian micros..even though there are only about 8 or 9 gals working in the micros, this is an easy target..plays well with the media, male operators, media can play up the politically correct "human trafficking" angle, immigration issues, operators are too small to afford quality legal representation, visible competition against the regular MPs..

* Asian MPs, such as Oriental Geisha, Sachi Spa, Myasianbaby and Asian Massage...these are easy targets..Male investors/equity holders with female management fronts..easy to portray the girls as Controlled by pimps etc...Note; could be busted, not on Licencing issues, but on the Living off the Avails (see below) and Exercising Control, Direction and Influence aspects of law..

* The smaller MP studios which have complaints against them..e.g. Venus and Kings Court Massage (same owners) which just had 2 SP complaints in print re: the work conditions there. These studios could be lax in their licencing process and getting all the necessary paperwork done for having the girls work there..also, too poor to obtain good enough legal representation..

* Visiting escorts..easy target for not having licences..LE will probably go after the male agency operators Primarily, on the Exercising Control aspect of the law..

* Regular MPs..to ensure all the girls have a massage licence, and to bring them under stricter scrutiny, control and surveillance..

* Any newly opening MP, such as Kendra's Elite Retreat..Any new studios will have to toe the line in every aspect possible..

"Living on the avails of prostitution -- s. 212 (1) (j):
Another law against pimps. Though it is usually used against pimps, and escort agencies and massage parlours can be charged with this offence. A mother who sends out her daughter, or a boyfriend who sends out his girlfriend to be a Sex Trade Worker and takes a cut of the profits, are examples of other individuals who can be charged with this offense. This does not apply to the support of children that a prostitute may have"

"Exercising control, direction or influence -- s.212 (1) (h):
Another form of pimping or extorting vulnerable people. If someone exercises control, direction, and influence on where a Sex Trade Worker goes and who a Sex Trade Worker goes with they are committing an illegal act. Escort agencies and massage parlours can be prosecuted under this law. The only way an escort agency or massage parlour can avoid breaking this law is if they allow the escort or masseuse to decide if they want to go to a date without penalizing them for refusing."

 

[Xamarth]

"Common bawdy-house -- s. 210:
It is illegal to own, operate or even be in a bawdy house. Most people think of a bawdy house as something like a brothel, but this can apply to any place that is frequently and habitually used for the purposes of prostitution. Johns found in the premises will be subpoenaed to court to give evidence about their experience on the premises. Massage parlours can be prosecuted under this law."

In the event that some MPs may be tempted to report visiting escorts and asian micros and MPs to authorities, this is a very slippery slope to go down..

Once the vigilantes in LE start on a roll, they may be tempted to go after everyone, including regular MPs, if they get popular support in the media..

Note that the Common bawdy house definition states that Massage Parlours can be prosecuted under this law, too..

 

[Mommy of 2 awesome babies]

Latest info/intel indicates that several regular MPs against whom the neighbors and members of the public have lodged complaints are under surveillance and are being monitored, and after conducting busts, LE plans to have a major news conference.

 

[Ash W]

MPs most likely to be targetted in etown upcoming busts will probably be based on:

* How close they are to Residential areas..how many of these residential "neighbors" are complaining to LE..how powerful are their voices.

* Is the MP a "stand alone" location with the entrance clearly leading into the MP?...easy to survey and monitor, showing a clear connection between a visitor and the studio..

Or, is the entrance to the MP a common entrance for several different types of businesses...more difficult to "prove" that a customer is going to the MP in particular..

* Does the MP have MALE ownership, either in whole or in part as investors or financial stake holders?..These will be high on the list of the targetted Studios, since it plays well with the media,

and a news conference would have more buzz if LE were perceived to be prosecuting Male "pimps" rather than female owners..

* How many complaints are made by the SPs themselves against the MP studio?? and how serious are these complaints??

The complaints which will be taken most seriously by LE will be the one from the ladies who believe they've been taken advantage of, mistreated, abused, insulted, assaulted etc. by Males who are managers/investors/shareholders/owners of the studio..

Also, it's possible for a complaint to be made against a Male owner/manager by a jealous SP if the male manager/owner/investor is sleeping around with more than one of the ladies on staff. Been known to happen..