Arrest for Prostitution Sealed, San Fernando Court

In October 2021, our client worked at the “Massage Wellness Center” in a strip mall along Parthenia Avenue in Northridge. She had emigrated to the United States from China a few years earlier and knew very little English. She was 41 years old and lived in Alhambra, but worked in Northridge.

The Los Angeles Police Department is well aware that massage parlors often sell more than just massages, so they are commonly the target of sting operations.

A detective looking into such illegal activities apparently texted several “escorts,” asking about a massage and was directed by three to the “Massage Wellness Center” where our client worked.

The detective then was fitted with a hidden recording device and went to the location, posing as a customer. He was directed to a private room within the business and told to disrobe and then lay on a table inside, face down.

Our client greeted the decoy in the room and began her massage. Part way through the massage, the decoy told our client that she was pretty. Our client responded, “thank you.” The decoy then asked our client if she was interested in earning a little more money and used hand signals to show what he wanted, demonstrating he was aware that his every word might be monitored by the police and he did not want her to get in trouble, or himself.

Our client’s response was equivocal, saying “I don’t know.” The decoy then got up off the table, fully nude and pulled out a $50 bill from his pants pocket and showed it to our client.

Our client allegedly nodded her head, also showing that she understood her every word may be recorded by some hidden recoding device. She then told the decoy to “wait here” and that she would “be right back.”

Once our client left the room, the decoy used the small recording device to tell police officers waiting in the parking lot to enter the store in uniform to arrest our client.

Our client, upon hearing police officers enter the store’s front door, then casually walked out the back door of the business as if she was walking home, but was arrested by police monitoring the back of the business.

Our client was then taken to the Valley Division station of the Los Angeles Police Department, where she was booked and eventually released after signing a promise to appear in the San Fernando Courthouse in about three months.

The client retained Greg Hill & Associates and our office resolved the case with informal diversion, meaning she never had to enter a no contest or guilty plea and, after the client attended six classes through the “Journey Out” Program (to learn about sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation), a program given in Mandarin and Cantonese languages, offered by the Mary Magdalene Project. Our client also performed five days of community service and then the case was dismissed in the interest of justice under Penal Code § 1538.5.

This was important for her that she not even enter a no contest plea, as she was not a U.S. citizen and a no contest plea to a charge is regarded as a conviction under immigration law. A conviction for violating § 647(b) is a crime involving moral turpitude. Matter of W- (C.O. 1951) 4 I & N Dec. 401. In Matter of W-, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) Central Office held that violation of a city (Seattle) ordinance relating to prostitution was a crime involving moral turpitude. The decision was the first to recognize that engaging in prostitution is categorically a crime involving moral turpitude. Despite the age of the decision, it has been recognized by both the Board and several Federal circuit courts as remaining good law in recent decisions.

After one year, the case was dismissed and Greg explained to the client that she had the right to have the record of the arrest and the court filed sealed and destroyed under Penal Code §§ 851.91 and 851.92. Greg explained that such a petition, if granted, would direct the Department of Justice to delete, remove or erase the record of her arrest for violation of Penal Code § 647(b).

She client said she wanted to get such an order from the judge and retained Greg Hill & Associates to prepare, file such a petition in the San Fernando Courthouse and serve it to the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office assigned to the San Fernando Courthouse.

Our office did so and a hearing date was set for the petition. Greg Hill attended the hearing and the judge assigned for the hearing granted the petition, making our client very happy.