The woman was reportedly forced to do 'small' and 'big' jobs related to prostitution
A Minnesota massage parlor owner was arrested after allegedly holding a woman captive in a "small room" and using her as a prostitute for customers, authorities say.
Authorities in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota, received a 911 phone call last Saturday from a "screaming female" and responded to Massage Therapy in Willmar, according to court documents.
The "screaming female" did not speak English, and the responding officer used a language translation app to communicate with the woman upon arrival, while awaiting a Mandarin translator who could speak to the woman by phone. The woman was described in court documents, which were reviewed by Fox News Digital, as "crying loudly" on the floor.
Meanwhile, the officer also saw the owner of the massage parlor, identified as 55-year-old Ying He, in the parlor. The victim, whose name and age have not been released, told police that Ying allegedly hit her over the head, and that she felt "dizzy and had a headache."
Ying He, 55, was arrested in Minnesota after allegedly holding a woman in a massage parlor. (Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office)
The woman added in comments to a translator that Ying did not let her "drink water, cook food, turn on lights, and confined her to a small room," according to the court documents.
The victim "stated that she gave a 30-minute massage to a customer that day and when the customer asked for more work to be done, her boss became upset with her and ended up hitting her on the head," the records show.
The woman was transported to a local hospital and treated for her injuries. She told police that she was flown from California to Minnesota on March 3, and had been confined and living in the massage parlor since, where the owner monitored her movements, from eating to showering.
The woman said she paid a Los Angeles agency $100 to help find employment at a massage parlor that did not sell "sex."
The woman accepted the job, under the pretenses that upon her arrival in Minnesota, her new boss would reimburse her half the plane ticket. Instead, according to the woman’s comments to police, she alleged that once she arrived, Ying watched all of her movements and forced her into sex work.
The victim said she was locked in a small room when she was not with customers and instructed to "do whatever the customer wanted her to do." The woman told police that she was instructed to perform sex acts on the customers, including "small" jobs and "big" jobs.
Massage Therapy located in Minnesota. (Google Maps)
"Small job meant assisting with hands masturbating the customer. Big job meant having sexual intercourse with the customer," the court doc reads.
The woman said she was fearful of fleeing the parlor because the owner "would find her and He's boss in LA was a lawyer for the courts."
Police reviewed surveillance footage from the parlor after Ying denied hitting the woman or holding her captive, and found footage showing the owner hitting the victim on "the right side of her head."
The footage, according to the court documents, showed a male customer exit a massage room and enter a separate room while the victim and Ying stood in the hallway, with the parlor owner allegedly speaking and "gesturing" at the victim. Ying then ran down the hallway toward the victim, stopping right in front of her, apparently sparking concern from the client waiting in the massage parlor.
"The client then ran out into the hallway in his underwear as though he had heard something, then went back into the room," court documents state.
Entrance of Massage Therapy in Willmar, Minnesota (Google Maps)
The massage parlor owner returned to the room where the client was located, before going back into the hallway and allegedly hitting the victim, according to the footage.
The victim was then seen falling and pulling out her cellphone, the documents detailed, citing the surveillance footage.
Police responded shortly after and Ying was arrested.
CHURCH SERVICES DISTURBED AS RAMPANT SAN DIEGO PROSTITUTION HITS FEVER PITCH
Kandiyohi County Jail in Minnesota (Google Maps)
Ying was charged with one felony charge of soliciting an individual to practice prostitution and two misdemeanors for operating a disorderly house and fifth-degree assault. She’s being held on a $150,000 bond and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Authorities conducted DNA tests in the massage parlor rooms amid their investigation, and also found two sex toys, described as whips, in one massage room.