Over the years Long Island has seen the some of the highest raids and arrests in the Tri-state region on massage parlors, according to police and town records. On Aug. 27 Legislator Russell proposed legislation to tighten enforcement to crack down on massage-business owners while “helping employees who may be victims of human trafficking.
Russell, who represents the Uniondale and Hempstead communities and is the bill’s lead sponsor, unveiled the Nassau County Anti-Human Trafficking Prevention and Victim Protection Act at a news conference at the Nassau County Legislature.
The proposal comes months after Nassau County police investigated two Hempstead massage businesses. Police said in April illegal massages and prostitution were taking place at Lilac Spa on West Peninsula Boulevard and No. 8 Beauty Spa on Fulton Avenue. Four people were arrested on charges that included prostitution and unauthorized practice of a profession; one was charged with attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.
“For far too long, too much of our response to trafficking has focused on the person with the least power,” Russell said. “The woman being exploited gets arrested, the storefront gets raided, and then too often, the people running the operation, enabling it, and knowingly providing the location simply disappear into the background.”
The legislation is intended to move enforcement beyond the people being exploited and toward those who organize, manage or knowingly facilitate trafficking operations.
The proposal follows legislation Nassau County approved earlier this year aimed at combating human trafficking in hotels and motels.
The legislation would establish escalating criminal fines and give the county additional tools to take action against repeat violations and those who knowingly facilitate trafficking.
“The message should not be get caught, pay a fine, reopen tomorrow,” Russell said. “The message should be if you continue to break the law, the consequences continue to get more serious.”
The proposal would also create a Human Trafficking Victim Assistance Fund, with money collected through penalties used for emergency housing, counseling, transportation, legal services, workforce development and language assistance.
Russell was joined at the news conference by Holly Nadeau, a survivor of human trafficking and director of advocacy and engagement at Three Strands Global Foundation, a Christian nonprofit focused on preventing human trafficking.
“I was born and raised in Nassau County, and no matter where life has taken me, this will always be my home,” Nadeau said. “It is personal for me to prevent and combat trafficking –trafficking is not a one-size-fits-all issue, I know this because I lived it.
“I was trafficked for eight years across 11 states,” she recalled.
Nadeau said her exploitation included forced criminality, financial exploitation, labor trafficking, domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation.
“People saw pieces of what was happening to me,” she said. “But they didn’t understand what they were seeing.”
Nadeau said her experience illustrates the importance of one provision of the legislation, which would require human trafficking prevention education for employees of hotels and massage establishments.
“Sometimes the difference between a victim being missed and being recognized is not a lack of compassion,” she said. “It’s a lack of training.”
For Nadeau, helping survivors also means ensuring that people who may encounter trafficking know what they are seeing and how to respond.
“We cannot control when exploitation begins,” Nadeau said. “But we can make sure that our community is prepared to recognize it sooner.”
The legislation has not yet gone through the Legislature’s committee process. Russell said she and the bill’s supporters are asking for it to be brought before a committee on Sept. 14 so lawmakers can discuss it publicly and consider potential changes.
“If someone has an idea that makes this law stronger, bring it to the table,” Russell said. “We’re here to listen.”
