Woman sentenced for pimping after initial charges of sex trafficking at massage parlor - weareiowa.com

[Lia Reichmann]

Huirong Zhou, 43, had been scheduled to go to trial in April, but took a plea agreement from prosecutors for lesser charges last week.



DES MOINES, Iowa — A Des Moines woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison in connection to a 2024 sex trafficking investigation.


43-year-old Huirong Zhou was arrested in May 2024 and originally faced three charges of human trafficking. Police began a months-long investigation into a massage parlor on Hull Avenue after receiving neighborhood complaints about "suspicious activity" in January of that year.


After executing a search warrant at the business, officers located three adult female victims. Investigators said at the time they found evidence of forced labor and commercial sexual activity. In addition, police seized more than $80,000 from the business.


A trial had been scheduled in April before Zhou took a plea agreement from prosecutors for lesser charges last week. In the deal, she admitted to pimping and three counts of leasing premises for prostitution, court documents show.


A judge sentenced Zhou to a total of eight consecutive years in prison — five years for pimping, a felony, and one year for each leasing premises charge on Thursday, March 27. She also faces a $2,315 fine.