At least 10 women were trafficked at a Lake Oswego massage business, a new Lewis & Clark Law Review analysis of the Flora Spa case argues.
The article, by recent Lewis & Clark Law School graduate Hannah Beaulieu, uses the Boones Ferry Road spa to examine how ineffective legislation, weak enforcement and poor communication between regulators and law enforcement have fueled the growth of illicit massage businesses across Oregon. The piece appears in Volume 30 of the Lewis & Clark Law Review.
Lake Oswego Police detectives identified Flora Spa at 15630 Boones Ferry Road as a suspected front for prostitution in July 2023, according to a department press release. The investigation revealed the spa was part of a multi-jurisdictional trafficking operation with suspects in multiple states. Detectives worked with advocacy groups to connect the women with support services.
The case expanded to include Yoyo Spa at 21510 Willamette Drive in West Linn. In February 2024, a Clackamas County grand jury indicted eight people on more than 60 counts of promoting prostitution and compelling prostitution, according to KPTV. All eight have pleaded not guilty.
Detective Nicole Palmieri led the Lake Oswego investigation, which began with a single tip. Deputy District Attorneys Rachel Erickson and Aisha Amiri are prosecuting both cases for the Clackamas County District Attorney's Office.
Erickson told KPTV that investigators observed women having sexual encounters with up to 10 men per day, living inside the spa, unable to leave, with people bringing them food. Prosecutors said women were rotated between spas roughly every 30 days to attract buyers and keep victims isolated.
"These illicit massage businesses operate really in the shadows of our communities and impact people that are so vulnerable and so frankly, invisible to most people in society," Erickson told KPTV.
Beaulieu's article cites Chris Muller-Tabanera, chief strategy officer for The Network, an anti-trafficking organization, who argues Oregon's illicit massage industry is growing at "twice the national rate."
Jeff Van Laanen, compliance and licensing manager for the Oregon State Board of Massage Therapists (OBMT), told the Rogue Valley Times that the businesses frequently close and reopen under different names. He likened enforcement to "whack-a-mole."
The OBMT tallied roughly 340 illicit massage businesses statewide by the end of 2025, up from about 60 in 2019.
Oregon lawmakers responded with two new laws. House Bill 3819, operative Jan. 1, 2026, raises the civil penalty cap from $1,000 to $5,000 and elevates operating an unlicensed massage facility from a misdemeanor to a Class C felony. It also allows the OBMT to post a placard on non-compliant facilities.
House Bill 4157, effective June 5, 2026, creates a hearsay exception for trafficking cases. Statements victims make to first responders within 24 hours of a commercial sex act can be admitted as evidence, even if the victim cannot testify. Both bills were sponsored by state Rep. Tran, KPTV reported.
The Flora Spa and Yoyo Spa trial is scheduled for January in Clackamas County. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
