Four women charged in North Strabane spa prostitution ring heading to trial
Paul Paterra
Four women accused of running a prostitution ring through two North Strabane spas will stand trial on all charges, while one of the alleged organizers of the operation is facing his preliminary hearing next month.
Jin Wang, 53, and Ying Luo, 52, of Houston, waived their cases to court while and Yan Miao, 51, and Saizhu Ouyang, 49, both of North Strabane, had their charges held for trial following Tuesday morning’s preliminary hearing before District Judge James Saieva Jr.
Jin Spa at 142 McClelland Road and Wan Spa at 2215 Hill Church Houston Road were raided by North Strabane police on Jan. 23 following a lengthy investigation into the operations. The investigation began Oct. 1 after police received multiple tips about the spas and officers saw “a high volume of male patrons coming to and from” both locations, according to court documents.
Wang and Walter Mock Jr., 59, both of North Strabane, were accused of being the “organizers and principals” of the alleged illicit businesses and are facing additional charges, according to court documents.
Wang was accused of performing a sex act on an undercover officer on Nov. 5, according to court documents, while Ouyang, Luo and Miao are also accused of similar acts at the spas.
Wang is facing felony charges of corrupt organizations, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, criminal use of a communication facility and promoting prostitution. Ouyang, Luo and Miao are charged with being an employee of corrupt organizations and promoting prostitution, while Ouyang and Luo also face a misdemeanor of indecent assault since court records accused them of not asking for permission before beginning to perform sex acts on undercover officers.
The four women were not initially offered bond after they were arraigned on the charges, but three of them have since been given options. Saieva set Wang’s bond at $100,000 cash and Luo’s at $20,000 cash, although he denied Maio bail and all three women remain jailed. Ouyang was granted a $15,000 bond by Washington County Judge Traci McDonald on Jan. 30, and she was released later that day.
Mock, who is facing the same charges as Wang and is free on $100,000 cash bond, is scheduled to appear for his preliminary hearing before Saieva on March 4.
Both spas were shut down following the raids.