Jefferson Parish massage parlor shuts down after repeated complaints of prostitution - NOLA.com

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After years of complaints, an unlicensed massage parlor on Terry Parkway is finally no more.

The long-awaited closure of LA Massage comes after the Jefferson Parish Council in May approved new regulations for massage parlors that made it easier for local officials to crack down on bad actors.


According to state regulators, LA Massage’s phone number was included in advertisements featuring Asian women on several websites used by “businesses offering illicit services and/or illegal prostitution.”







Those findings prompted the Louisiana Board of Massage Therapy in June 2023 to reject LA Massage’s application to regain its state license, after it expired earlier in the year.


As of May 2024, however, LA Massage continued to operate. Its storefront at 506 Terry Parkway featured a blinking “open” sign, and when reached by phone at the time, an employee confirmed that the massage parlor was open for walk-ins.


Now, all that’s left is the outline from its since-removed sign.

Becky Collins, a Terrytown resident who lived near the parlor, said she's relieved that LA Massage closed before the Super Bowl — an event often associated with an increase in human trafficking.







Collins also lauded former Jefferson Parish Council member Marion Edwards, who retired earlier this month, for spearheading the ordinance.


That ordinance required massage establishments to obtain a license from the parish, prohibited parlors from operating between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and created a hearing process for violations.

Since then, 55 massage establishments have obtained their license and 25 violations have been issued, according to Liza Caluda, the parish’s director of code compliance and enforcement.


Nine businesses remain in violation for not obtaining their license, Caluda said. The parish is in the process of scheduling hearings for those violations.


Massage parlors have long been associated with prostitution and illicit sexual activity but are often at the bottom of the list of priorities for law enforcement agencies focused on violent crime. The New Orleans Police Department sharply curtailed vice investigations as it grappled with a shortage of officers nearly a decade ago.







The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office made several arrests at LA Massage in 2021 and 2022 on charges related to both prostitution and practicing massage therapy without a license, though the parlor continued to operate.


The parish ordinance approved last year also made license holders accountable for violations at their premises for the previous 18 months, regardless of whether the business changes ownership. LA Massage switched hands multiple times in the preceding years, according to public records. The most recent owner, Changling Qui, couldn't be reached for comment.