Watch VideoState lawmakers to tackle human trafficking & prostitution problem
Story By: James Jarman
Source: KOAA
Published Mon Feb 04, 2008, 01:45 PM MST
Updated Tue Feb 05, 2008, 03:40 PM MST
A proposed state law that will soon be introduced at the capitol, aims to clean up our communities by targeting human trafficking and prostitution.
It's a direct result of our undercover investigative series that found the problems exist locally, but law enforcement says they can't shut the places down without and change in the law.
State Representative Liane "Buffie" McFadyen watched our series and started researching the problems. She says she was shocked when she realized how widespread it is, and she's working with law enforcement and the massage industry to try to make changes.
As we've reported, News First Investigates was offered sex for money at several massage parlors surrounding Colorado Springs.
Metro Vice and the El Paso County Sheriff confirmed that human trafficking's also a problem, and they can't shut down the parlors where it's all happening. "Having some type of regulation, some type of licensing would dramatically turn the tide to our favor and that's what we need if we're really going to have an impact on these operations," Sheriff Terry Maketa told us in November 2007.
But as we found state law prevents El Paso County from licensing the industry. As a result, the issue's now moved to the state capitol. "Illegal businesses basically under the cloak of secrecy disguised as massage parlors is not ok, and it's not just a problem contained in El Paso County," Buffie McFadyen (D) Pueblo West said.
She says because there's no state regulation, "they can pop up anywhere and what we're usually seeing is, like the problem El Paso County's had. The City of Colorado Springs instituted some very strong measures on licensing massage therapists so businesses leave those areas and go out into the unregulated counties," she said.
The Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy in Colorado Springs trains therapists who have to pass the city's requirements, which are the toughest in the state and some of the toughest in the country.
The institute director says without state regulation, businesses on the illegal side will continue to move into unregulated areas and disguise themselves as massage therapists. "That opens the door to prostitution as well as human trafficking and then it's up to the officials to really be able to decipher what is legitimate massage therapy and what is a business that might have prostitution or trafficking involved," said Roger Patrizio, director of the Colorado Institute of Massage Therapy.
Several cities in our region, including Pueblo and Woodland Park, regulate the industry. However, the door's still wide open in the counties in Southern Colorado.
McFadyen, law enforcement and massage industry leaders hope a state law will shut that door.
38 states do regulate the massage industry, Colorado is not one of them. According to a 2007 Sunrise review of massage therapy by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies licensing and regulation is not needed. Although the review found prostitution exists in massage parlors, licensing "will likely not lead to a reduction in or elimination of prostitution in the state." The report makes no mention of human trafficking.
