Two women face criminal charges following police raids in Lower Burrell and Murrysville as part of a prostitution sting, according to authorities.
Murrysville and Lower Burrell police and the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office cooperatively investigated Asian Massage in Lower Burrell and Asian Garden Spa in Murrysville.
Both parlors are being accused of soliciting prostitution, according to court papers.
At the Lower Burrell business, detectives observed activity consistent with massage parlors involved in illegal prostitution, according to a criminal complaint against Li Cheng, 62.
An undercover officer paid for legitimate massages there in May and September, and both times, an employee offered to perform sexual acts for money, authorities said. Officers refused service and ended the massage, the complaint said.
Officers obtained a search warrant for the business and, when they conducted the search last week, Cheng was living inside the business and was believed to be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the massage parlor, according to court papers.
Police filed charges against Cheng on Tuesday.
In the case against Asian Garden Spa on William Penn Highway in Murrysville, undercover officers paid for a massage service and were offered a sexual act for an extra cost following the massage, which they also declined, according to court papers.
Weihong Wang, 63, was taken into custody Sept. 18 at Asian Garden Spa and charged with prostitution. Police accused Wang of offering a sex act to an undercover officer. Wang waived her right to a preliminary hearing this week.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement placed a detainer on Wang because of her immigration status, according to police.
