4 arrested in Vigo Co. Asian massage parlor prostitution ring

By Lucy Perry
Indiana Central News

A nearly one-year Vigo County Sheriff's Office prostitution investigation has led to a southside massage parlor -front operation bust.

According to Chief Deputy John Moats, the massage businesses located at 4312 S. Seventh Street, 500 E. Springhill Drive and 1424 S. Third Street were used as fronts for what, in fact, was a prostitution business operated on a cash-only basis.

Four Asian women were arrested and booked into the Vigo County Jail yesterday and all were released on their own recognizance shortly afterward:

• Ruilan Wang, 46, of Chicago. She was found at the S. Seventh Street location was booked into the jail at around 4:30 p.m. 
• Shihong Zhao, 45. of Chicago. She was found at the S. Third Street location and booked into the jail around 4:40 p.m.
• Han Shen, 37 of Terre Haute. She was found at the Springhill Drive location and was booked into the jail around 5 p.m. 
• Lou Lihua, 40 of Terre Haute. She was found at the Springhill Drive location and booked into the jail around 5:15 p.m.

VCSO Det. Michael Ellsworth quickly followed up on leads in the case provided by a confidential informant, beginning in August last year. Investigation included audio and video recordings of the sex acts in exchange for payment.

"It was found that all said locations were performing sexual acts with customers for payment," Moats said today, adding, "It was also determined through several months of undercover surveillance that several Asian females were being transported back and forth to all said locations upon the requests of customers. All three locations advertised cash only transactions and payment was given to the female performing the sexual act directly."

​When VCSO detectives executed search warrants yesterday at the businesses, they reportedly discovered thousands of dollars in cash.The suspects all stated they also resided in the parlors.