Tacoma limits massage parlor hours to fight sex trafficking

TACOMA – The Tacoma City Council has passed an ordinance limiting hours of operation for massage parlors in an effort to stem illegal sex trafficking and prostitution.

The News Tribune reported the ordinance passed Tuesday will limit hours to between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

Council Member Marty Campbell introduced the measure in September, referencing the closure of nine massage businesses in Lakewood and Tacoma in prostitution stings.

Campbell says those businesses called themselves massage parlors, but were open all hours with a steady clientele of men coming and going at 2 a.m.

The ordinance adopts language from state law that permits the city to charge a misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor to a business owner and a massage practitioner who is found to be providing massage services without a state license.