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Two face charges of prostitution
By Ed Runyan
NEWTON FALLS
One of two women charged in Newton Falls Municipal Court related to the raid on the Four Seasons Health Spa on state Route 5 near the Ohio Turnpike last week has been arraigned.
Kay Owens, 64, of 352 Blossom Ave., Campbell, was charged with six felony counts of promoting prostitution and was booked into the Trumbull County Jail on Friday morning.
She was released Saturday after posting $50,000 bond and remained free after her hearing Monday. She was not asked to enter a plea in the case but surrendered her passport to the court and was ordered to remain in Ohio as a condition of bond.
If convicted, she could receive up to 18 months in prison on each count.
Kyung Lee, 52, who gave her address as the spa’s address — 4300 state Route 5, Newton Falls — was scheduled for an arraignment hearing Thursday, but she did not appear, so the court issued a warrant for her arrest.
According to court records, she was charged with three misdemeanor counts of prostitution punishable by up to 14 months in prison.
The U.S. Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement took her into custody early Thursday from the Trumbull County Jail and began deportation proceedings, which take place in front of a judge.
Khaalid H. Walls, an ICE spokesman, said the criminal case will take precedence over the deportation proceedings, also known as removal proceedings, so Lee will be returned to Trumbull County for her next criminal hearing.
Meanwhile, the Braceville Township Police Department, which conducted the raid early July 3, said in an affidavit it filed in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court that the raid followed several interviews with purported spa customers in late June.
The interviews took place as a result of traffic stops the department conducted among men leaving the business.
In the interviews, four purported “johns” told officers they had paid around $140 for sex at the spas.
The affidavit describes traffic stops that took place June 25 through June 29. The men were from Montana, Vermilion, Cuyahoga Falls and Cleveland.
When police entered the business, they observed prostitution taking place, Police Chief Bill Garro said. Lee was taken from the spa and placed in police custody.
On Monday, signs at the business had been taken down, and the spa appeared to be closed. The Braceville Police Department could not be reached to comment on the status of the business.