Tolerating prostitution?

It's disappointing to learn about a house of prostitution operating in the midst of the busiest business district in Erie County. But, we should have known. Local and state police raided Top Relax Massage on U.S. 250 — and other locations outside the county — where suspected sex trade businesses were operating as part of a multi-county sex trafficking investigation.Three people connected to the business were recently indicted in Cuyahoga County on charges including prostitution, and one woman, was allegedly caught in the act of providing a sexual act on a customer at the local center. Investigators said there was evidence she was living inside Top Relax Massage. There was other evidence police found that indicated other sexual acts took place inside the business. We don't even want to ask what that evidence was.The business' owner, Jia Yue Dong, 42, of Brunswick, Ohio, was indicted on 39 charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering, promoting prostitution, tax fraud and practicing medicine without a certificate, according to Cuyahoga County court records. If the charges are accurate, Dong is a human trafficker.The woman who was arrested locally is age 53, and she was indicted on four charges: prostitution, promoting prostitution and two counts of soliciting. She, more than likely, however, is as much a victim as she is a criminal. We find it difficult to believe that anyone would voluntarily live inside a business on a very busy strip and work by giving sexual favors to strange men.The nature of human trafficking is grounded in prostitution. The victims are powerless over their captors, or made to feel powerless, by circumstance, the threat of physical harm, economic uncertainty, legal status or for some other reason. Getting arrested on prostition charges might be the one chance they have at escaping that life.We think it's important to remember that women and children get exploited by bad people and they are victims of a society that tolerates that exploitation. We're glad the Perkins police and state agents worked together successfully to bust up the operation here, and in other Ohio cities. With that said, though, it is equally important that we do not allow ourselves to become complacent in fighting human trafficking.Most of us probably have driven past Top Relax Massage and thought nothing of it. But what was going on there is not a business most of us want to be operating in our community. But, what did we think was going on there? Everyone has an obligation to be intolerant of any individual or business that exploits people in this manner. And if you're a customer, we urge you to seek help and stop acting out like that. As someone who buys sex in this way, you are a contributor to human trafficking. In fact, you are a key ingredient to the formula. Stop exploiting others.*A police officer walks in front of Top Relax Massage, 4004 Milan Road, in Perkins Township Wednesday, July 31, during a search warrant. The business was one of 13 targeted in a multi-county commercial sex investigation.