Explicit activities advertised on Web
Two Russian immigrants are being held at the Clermont County Jail on $500,000 bond as part of a Union Township Police Department investigation into prostitution activity in the township.
According to Union Township Lt. Scott Gaviglia, Saida Babaeva and Alina Priadko were employees at a massage parlor on Ohio Pike near the Hamilton County border. His department received criminal complaints against the East Euro Spa around the first week of December which led investigators to a website containing explicit advertising for the parlor.
The department launched an investigation with the assistance of the Cincinnati Police Department’s Vice Unit. The investigation led to several indictments on Wednesday, Jan. 12. Priadko was indicted on one count of promoting prostitution, one count of soliciting prostitution, and two counts of practicing medicine without a license. Babaeva was indicted on two counts of promoting prostitution, two counts of solicitation, and four counts of practicing medicine without a license.
“It’s unique to have this type of activity operating out of a store front,” Gaviglia said. “Normally contacts with solicitation occur in hotel rooms. Advertising to have the people come to them is relatively new to Union Township.”
Gaviglia said the investigation is ongoing and he is not in a position to comment on the women’s immigration status, however he said officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement have become involved in the investigation and they are currently holding the women for questioning.
“We explored the possibility that they were involved in human trafficking, but during interviews neither woman indicated that was the case,” Gaviglia said. “However our investigation is far from complete. We are waiting for ICE to guide us to the next step.”
Babaeva and Priadko were living in a hotel down the street from the massage parlor. Investigators are now trying to determine where the women were before they began staying at the hotel and where they were planning on going next.
The investigation will likely lead to additional arrests. Gaviglia said the women are not believed to be the heads of the organization and the storefront was being leased by a third party.
Both women are utilizing court appointed attorneys and interpreters.
The Cincinnati Vice Unit provided essential expertise in the case.
“Very few departments in the area have full-time vice units,” Gaviglia said. “Our investigators cover a wide variety of cases but we don’t have specializations. The Cincinnati Vice Unit can keep us up to date with current investigative tactics and trends.”