Santa Rosa officials talk progress, next steps for investigation into possibly illicit massage businesses
Eight massage businesses in Santa Rosa are under investigation by Code Enforcement officials, who are responding to a rising concern that the businesses are operating without the proper certifications.
Suspicions were confirmed during a set of investigations in February. At one business, no single employee had personal certifications required by the city to perform massages.
In another, the certificate posted within the business — issued by the California Massage Therapy Council — appeared to be not an original copy, and the name on the certificate did not match any worker in the business.
This progress in the investigation so far was laid out at a public safety meeting last month, where council members, police and code enforcement officers met at Santa Rosa City Council Chambers.
“Just like any of our cases, whether it be massage businesses or whether it be work without a permit at a residential property or anything that we do, we offer due process,” said Senior Code Enforcement Officer Daniela DeBaca in an interview with The Press Democrat following the meeting. “That's very important.”
DeBaca would not provide other examples of violations to not compromise the current investigations.
But in cases where massage therapists within a business have improper certification, say a copy instead of an original as required, she said it could be that the business owners replicated or falsified a license — or it could be a simple lack of knowledge that a photocopy isn’t acceptable.
“We can't make any assumptions,” DeBaca said. “That's part of the investigation.”
DeBaca presented at the April 23 meeting, which was spurred by recent community concern that a rise in massage businesses may be hubs for illicit activity and potential human trafficking.
She emphasized both in the meeting and to Press Democrat reporters that while the department has issued notices of violation, “that's the very, very beginning of an investigation.”
After receiving a notice of violation, the business or property owner is given a grace period to correct the issue — sometimes days, weeks or months depending on the case.
In the meantime, operations are supposed to stop, and compliance officers can drop by unexpectedly to check for cooperation.
Code enforcement officers have stopped by all of the eight cited businesses about three times since they received their initial violation, DeBaca said April 23.
During that meeting, about 30 people crowded to hear Santa Rosa city officials discuss their ongoing investigations and what comes next.
How code enforcement proceeds
Code enforcement moves to a series of citations if communication drops off, problems aren’t fixed or deadlines are blown. From there, officials have a range of options, like administrative hearings, cease and desist notices and receivership, among others.
In the case of the massage businesses, “it's not the time to determine whether a cease- and-desist notice or any other action is necessarily required,” said Lou Kirk, Code Enforcement’s assistant chief building official.
“We have to give them an opportunity to comply,” he added. “Oftentimes the party we're dealing with dictates what direction the case goes. If they're cooperative and they do everything we asked, then the problem is solved and we close the case.
“If they don't comply, we go through our tools until we find the one that works. It would be premature to shutdown a business at this point. We haven't even collected all the evidence yet.”
DeBaca said there has been compliance of varying degrees with each of the businesses in question so far. One case has already been closed, but she would not say whether that meant the business closed permanently or fixed their violations.
Ultimately, however, it's not up to code enforcement to determine whether illicit activity is occurring at these businesses, DeBaca said. That is for the police to determine.
Patricia Seffens, spokesperson for the Santa Rosa Police Department, said that while police are present to support Code Enforcement during investigations, their presence does not mean law enforcement has their own investigation in progress.
“If (officers) observe anything that requires further criminal investigation — evidence of human trafficking — then at that point, based on the observations of the officers there, then an investigation would open,” Seffens said.
Officers, in partnership with Verity — Sonoma County’s only rape crisis and healing center — will ask workers questions about their job, ability to leave and whether they feel safe.
Police also look for visual indicators of illicit activity or human trafficking, such as having living areas at the business and the clothing and appearance of the workers, Santa Rosa Police Department Sgt. Hector De Leon said.
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