Prostitution the symptom of a greater problem Prostitution the symptom of a greater problem (September 13, 2002)

A string of prostitution busts in and around Mountain View over the past year has spotlighted the city's problem with massage parlors providing sex acts for money, as well as the fact that enforcement of local prostitution laws does not get to the root of the issue.

The phenomenon is not new to Mountain View -- the city got widespread press when football star Jerry Rice was found in the bathroom of a parlor busted nearly five years ago -- but it seems to have become more visible as downtown office rents have plummeted with the lagging economy (the Voice experienced this firsthand when the tech startup in an adjacent office went under, eventually giving way to a massage parlor that police closed under accusations of providing sex acts).

According to local authorities, the parlors are generally staffed by poor women from Asian countries who are brought over by cartels which arrange for their visas and travel. Upon arriving in the U.S., the women -- often with no knowledge of English and little education -- are forced to work in the sex trade to pay off the cartel. The fees go up to $40,000.

Once the fees are paid off, the women rarely leave the trade; with limited language and work skills, they have few options that could provide the steady income they get from prostitution.

The July bust of a Sunnyvale ring whose tentacles stretched to South Korea showed that it is possible to get to the root of the problem. But breaking up that ring required a five-year FBI investigation.

In Mountain View, the police and local deputy DA do what they can to enforce local prostitution laws, closing down illegal massage facilities and arresting suspected prostitutes. These efforts may attack blight around the city, but the true victims of these crimes -- the women forced into the sex trade -- have no protections.

Curbing this problem will require a federal effort to address the holes in the immigration system that allow it to persist. By attacking the problem at its roots, these women could be protected and local governments could be relieved of the burden of an international problem.

In the meantime, Mountain View can continue to do its part by enforcing local laws and trying to arrest the ringleaders who exploit these women.