Wichita massage parlor owner pleads guilty in federal sex trafficking case
A Wichita massage parlor owner pleaded guilty Monday to harboring a Chinese woman who worked as a prostitute, Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a prepared statement. Attorneys will recommend Samir F. Elias, 60, be sentenced to the time he’s already served in custody on the case plus two years of post-release supervision, Beall said.
He is due in court for sentencing Dec. 12.
Elias, owner of GiGi’s Elite Massage, at 357 N. Hillside, admitted in his plea to hiring the woman to sell sex at his parlor, knowing that she wasn’t in the United States legally, Beall said. Prosecutors say he reviewed online forums that discussed selling sex at his massage parlor, let the woman live with him at his Wichita home, drove her back and forth to work and took money he knew the woman earned through prostitution.
The woman, identified in court records by the initials F.Y., was arrested after she offered to perform sex acts on an undercover Wichita police detective who went into Elias’ parlor for a massage.
Elias pleaded guilty to one count of harboring an alien for financial gain and one count of importation of an alien for prostitution, Beall said.
Amy Renee Leiker: 316-268-6644, @amyreneeleiker
This story was originally published September 19, 2016 at 11:31 AM with the headline "Wichita massage parlor owner pleads guilty in federal sex trafficking case."