Yesterday the Seattle PI reported on some prostitution arrests associated with a Renton business. An observer did not have to be a vice detective to see that the Red Dragon Spa in Renton looked suspicious. In addition to odd activity in the window and out front, their internet advertisements on Craigslist practically screamed “arrest us”.

Here is an excerpt:

“In November, detectives began investigating the Red Dragon Spa at 352 Sunset Blvd. N. in Renton after seeing it advertised on a Web site for erotic services. The ad offered three Asian girls and one Hispanic girl and a “great full hour massage for $100,” according to a search warrant affidavit filed in King County Superior Court.”

And the article includes this seedy detail:

“In addition, a registered sex offender is believed to have helped get a business license for the Renton parlor. In a license application, the sex offender, who was convicted of child rape in King County and now living in Kirkland, is listed as one of three contacts for the business, police and court documents say.”

The article includes a “sound-off” section, where many PI readers are responding to the article.

Like some of the other readers point out, the biggest problem with this type of business is the way it exploits the women and girls who get caught up in it. It’s not an issue of trying to impose puritan definitions of chastity on other people. The real issue here is that far too often these businesses are engaged in human trafficking and virtual enslavement, and they put the women (and girls) in physical and emotional peril. That is the best reason for keeping this activity illegal, and breaking up prostitution rings.

Here is the link to the story