Sgt. Mike Hackney said Wallis was the manager and worked at the business that they have been investigating for about a year and a half. Detectives also searched Wallis’ residence in Dayton.
Hackney said business records were taken from both the spa and the house.
Sheriff’s officials said the business has been open for several months and reports of possible illegal sexual acts being performed in the parlor began almost immediately. Fairfield Township police and the Butler County Undercover Regional Narcotics Unit worked together on the case.
“We executed search warrants in 2013 at this same address for prostitution, and arrests were made then as well,” Hackney said.
Undercover officers visited the spa as part of the investigation, and “we also have a ton of surveillance,” Hackney said.
While he said he could not say every massage was an erotic one, the business did not operate like typical ones in the area that offer beauty services and therapeutic massages.
“Those spas are largely frequented by women,” Hackney said. “We never saw one woman enter this place during surveillance.”
Hackney said most of the male customers were from outside the area, and the spa was advertised on a website with wording that was sexual in nature.
Two customers were at the business when detectives arrived about 1:30 p.m.
“We couldn’t prove they were there to get anything other than a regular massage,” Hackney said, noting the customers left quickly.
Other women at the spa were being questioned, but no charges had been filed late Thursday.
“There was a language barrier that made this case difficult,” said Sheriff Richard K. Jones. “Most of the employees spoke Mandarin Chinese, which made it tough on undercover agents to decipher.
“There will be more employees and possibly some customers facing criminal charges. This investigation is just getting started,” the sheriff said.
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