Geneva massage parlor remains closed, though landlord insists it's open

GENEVA – A massage therapy business in Geneva, which closed after a reporter questioned its business practices, appears to remain closed, despite the property’s landlord stating it is open for business.

And though the business name is not posted outside, it is listed as Asian Massage Spa, 622 W. State St., Geneva, with a phone number in an online database of erotic massage businesses that offer sexual experiences.

The neon open sign has been dark, its interior lights off and the front and back doors have been locked since Dec. 5.

Tom Anderson, of Colonial Ice Cream Inc., which owns the building, said Monday the business has been renting there for about two months.

“A therapist was dating a client who was married and she has been fired,” Anderson said. “They were closed temporarily, now they are open for business.”

Anderson said he was not concerned with the type of business that was renting there, nor that it was listed on an erotic massage website.

“They have not been raided or shut down,” Anderson said. “How people market their business is not my concern. Whether they are restaurant, a bakery, an office – I don’t know – as long as they pay the rent.”

Anderson said his information came from his commercial listing agent, Doug Summers.

But when a reporter called, Summers said, “I have no comment for you,” and he hung up.

As of Dec. 12, no one answers knocking at either the front or back doors – which are locked. A cell phone ring tone was heard briefly through the back door.

The phone number listed for the business goes to voice mail and messages left there have not been returned.

Police Cmdr. Brian Maduzia confirmed in an email that “the Geneva Police Department has been alerted to potential illegal activity at this location.”

Human trafficking in massage parlors is the second most common type of trafficking reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at polarisproject.org.

Indicators include windows being covered or no windows at all, locked entrance doors and the business’s presence on sexually graphic online advertisements, according to the website.

Other than doors being locked, all the windows in the 622 W. State St. building are covered, except for a basement laundry room and the porch windows facing the street in front.