3 arrested in alleged sex trafficking ring between NHP, Massachusetts

The Island Now

A married couple and their daughter were arrested Tuesday for allegedly running an interstate sex trafficking ring between New Hyde Park and three Massachusetts municipalities, the Massachusetts attorney general said.

Feng Ling Liu, 50, her husband, Jian Song, 48, and daughter Ting Ting Yin, 26, allegedly trafficked women between New Hyde Park and three massage parlors they owned in Hadley, East Longmeadow and Framingham, Mass., prosecutors in that state said in a news release.

Massachusetts authorities searched a residence and two New Hyde Park massage parlors allegedly involved in trafficking when Nassau County police arrested Yin, who lives in New Hyde Park, prosecutors said.

Also arrested was Shuzi Li, 52, who allegedly ran a separate but similar operation between Flushing, Queens, and her parlors in Northampton and Agawam, Mass., prosecutors said.

Ten women were identified as victims of the schemes, prosecutors said.

“Human trafficking is happening right here in our own communities across the state,” Maura Healey, the Massachusetts attorney general, said in a statement. “It is an egregious crime that victimizes vulnerable people, while traffickers profit. This is about the exploitation of human beings and my office will continue to prosecute these cases to hold traffickers and sex buyers accountable.”

Liu and Song allegedly recruited women to provide sexual services at the Massachusetts massage parlors they operated, prosecutors said. They allegedly received most of the profits from the operations.

They allegedly advertised for the services online, set up appointments, transported the women and arranged for them to stay in the parlors where they were being prostituted, prosecutors said.

Yin allegedly helped coordinate transportation of the women between New Hyde Park and Massachusetts.

She is being held in Nassau County and will eventually be extradited to Massachusetts, a spokeswoman for Healey’s office said. Yin is not set to face local charges at this time, a spokesman for the Nassau district attorney said.

“Victims of sex trafficking experience the horrors of modern-day slavery and the criminals who profit from oppression must face harsh penalties,” Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said. “We will use every tool in our kit to hold traffickers accountable, and to give their victims the support and assistance they need.”

Li allegedly transported women between Flushing, Queens, and her two massage parlors and took most of the profits from the sexual services they performed.

Li allegedly had the women stay in the same rooms in which they had sexual encounters Li arranged, prosecutors said.

The investigations of both rings are ongoing, Massachusetts prosecutors said.

Liu and Song were set to be arraigned Wednesday in Belchertown, Mass., on charges of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution, money laundering and conspiracy, the same charges on which Yin was arrested.

Li was set to be arraigned Wednesday in Northampton, Mass., on charges of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, deriving support from prostitution and money laundering.

By Noah Manskar

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