Chesterfield County, Virginia, police touted a series of stings last year targeting local massage parlors they believed were connected to a multinational sex trafficking ring.
Trafficking cases can be complex, leading some jurisdictions to take shortcuts by arresting or disciplining the women for prostitution, which experts say is punishing the victims without solving the problem.
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Xieuwen Zhang, a Chinese immigrant and state-licensed massage therapist who owns XF Massage, is seen on Feb. 26. Last June, she was arrested by Chesterfield police at gunpoint while at work, and she was found guilty on one count of prostitution. She claimed an undercover detective asked her to perform illicit deeds and that the publicity surrounding her arrest has destroyed her reputation and livelihood.
Xieuwen Zhang, the owner and operator of XF Massage, poses for a photo, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025.
XF Massage is located in the Midlothian Station shopping center in Chesterfield County. XF Massage owner Xiuwen Zhang said on the afternoon of her arrest, she had momentarily turned her back on a client, who unbeknownst to her was an undercover detective with Chesterfield police. When she turned back around, he was naked, she said. Lt. Ed Pierpont, of Chesterfield police’s special investigations unit, refuted that claim and said officials have recorded evidence of Zhang soliciting illicit acts for pay.
XF Massage owner Xiuwen Zhang said she feels targeted by Chesterfield authorities because she is Chinese. “Americans are so nice, so friendly,” she said through Google's translation tool. “But the police, the courts, I do not trust them.”
Xiuwen Zhang — a Chinese immigrant and state-licensed massage therapist who owns XF Massage in Chesterfield, Virginia — discusses her arrest.
Here’s how the Lee Enterprises Public Service Team did a first-of-its-kind analysis of states’ efforts to protect women who are subject to sex…
Midlothian Station shopping center, which includes XF Massage, is seen in a drone image. XF Massage is one of at least three massage parlors that functioned for almost a year after employee arrests.
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Xiuwen Zhang, the owner and operator of XF Massage, is seen on Feb. 26. Chesterfield police revoked her local massage permit, though she remains licensed through the state of Virginia.
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