Heat on escorts - Toronto Sun

[Marshall Stack]

Heat on escorts
York cops target agencies in wake of killings
By TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN

York Regional Police are targeting escort agencies in the wake of a probe into last month's gruesome triple killing at an area massage parlour. York vice cops said more men are using escort services because of police pressure on the parlours in their search for the killers of Zhu Xia Lin, 41, Yan Jun Liu, 35, and Xiao Chen Zhang, 40.

Det. Doug Cole said escort services are hard to probe because they move around, and the men and escorts can arrange to meet at any Toronto-area hotel.

"We have identified a number of escort agencies," Cole said. "We are paying a closer look at some of them."

He said the agencies are discreet because sex acts occur in hotel rooms and the women are taken there by drivers.

"There are no neon signs and the organizers have more control," Cole said.

He said many of the agencies are fronts for prostitution.

York homicide Det.-Sgt. Bill Sadler said there's been little progress in the Feb. 8 murders, in which three bodies were found in a Ford Explorer parked in the lot of Victoria Square United Church, near Woodbine Ave. and Elgin Mills Rd.

Police were yesterday searching the area for possible clues. York police believe the three were slain in the Mirage massage parlour on Warden Ave. at Denison St. and driven to the church.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2004/03/24/393607.html

Edited by Moderator to add link to article.

 

[Goober Mcfly]

If they're going after the sex-slavery agencies who hold girls against their will, more power to them! The world would be a better place without scumbags like those agency owners around.

HOWEVER

If they take aim at the "legitimate" agencies which employ ladies on their own choice I think they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. That would be like closing down the 401 because a few people are driving recklessly.

 

[DATYdude]

Goob: what do you define as "sex-slavery agencies who hold girls against their will"?

EE agencies?

Asian agencies?

 

[Goober Mcfly]

Goob: what do you define as "sex-slavery agencies who hold girls against their will"?

EE agencies?

Asian agencies?

Any agency who holds ladies against their will, be they EE, Asian, caucasian, whatever. It doesn't matter, the determining factor is that they are violating these ladies' freedom.

IMO, THAT is the true crime here.

 

[The Doctor]

Heat on escorts
York cops target agencies in wake of killings
By TOM GODFREY, TORONTO SUN

He said many of the agencies are fronts for prostitution.

Can a non-TERBite be nominated for TOTW?

 

[danmand]

That is one memorable quote from sargent Cole:

"He said many of the agencies are fronts for prostitution."

 

[havingfun]

Neanderthals - that's what these keystone cops are. Instead of applying resources to solving murders, they are out to catch people engaging in sex in hotel rooms and the privacy of their homes. Idiots.

 

[ocean976124]

Unless an agency killed one of these people I fail to see how targeting agencies helps the issue of the murder...

 

[Berlin]

If they're going after the sex-slavery agencies who hold girls against their will, more power to them! The world would be a better place without scumbags like those agency owners around.

HOWEVER

If they take aim at the "legitimate" agencies which employ ladies on their own choice I think they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater. That would be like closing down the 401 because a few people are driving recklessly.

Agree.

However and sadly, LE at times dig easy targets...... instant gratifications, which solve little to zip.

 

[Mufflicker]

Since they seem to have no idea how to procede, they're doing a version of

When in danger,
When in doubt,
Run around in circles
Scream and shout

 

[HaywoodJabloemy]

"He said many of the agencies are fronts for prostitution."

Really!? You're kidding! Who would have guessed?
I think everbody in Canada would give a big "Well, duh" to that quote.

Does that mean some of them aren't?

Remember LE can go after any agency they want to, at any time for any reason, real or made up, because any or all of them could be charged with living off the avails. This is regardless of whether they are the dishonest ones using coercion or the ones we consider to be legit. This is like an open invitation to police corruption, and apparently no one in Canada realizes this could be a problem.

 

[mexicanbullfrog]

Pretty soon the only cheating I can do on my wife is through phone sex lines, and porn. Life sucks!!!

 

[rdhaired_vixen]

All i can say is Metro's finest..... and i pay my taxes for this ....... man............

 

[Morgan Ellis]

I think it's disgusting.

"Hey, we have no idea who did this crime, and the chances we'll solve it is nil, so let's go bust some agencies."

How the hell do these two seperate issues even connect? What does a gangland style slaying at an MP have to do with agencies being (quelle shock!) 'fronts for prostitution'?

"Well, we still have a murderer on the loose, but dammit - we're protecting our citizens from the chance of inadvertently having their dicks sucked, when in reality they just wanted someone they could talk to."

I bet all of York region will sleep easier tonight knowing how well protected they are. Must be a deep consolation to the families of the deceased, as well.

-- Morgan

 

[Goober Mcfly]

While I agree with you, Morgan (and am cleaning the Dr. Pepper off of my monitor from the "inadvertent blowjob" reference), I have absolutely no problem with LE going after the particular agencies that are involved in the "sex slavery" and crap like that. Close them all down, arrest the owners, rescue the ladies. But I think if they target the sex industry en masse, they're going too far.

 

[Morgan Ellis]

Close them all down, arrest the owners, rescue the ladies.

Agreed - but call me cynical (might as well, everyone else does) for doubting that LE has suddenly developed knight in shining armour syndrome, and could give a flying fig about the well being of anything other than their sorry ass, sadly tarnished reputations.

But hey, I kid! I love LE! Always out there keeping us ladies safe from ne'er do wells.

When not harassing us and making our lives hell, that is.

-- Morgan

 

[bootycall28]

He said many of the agencies are fronts for prostitution.

Really mon? Shaba shocked.

Shaba

 

[dogman]

This is a small and closed world with which we are talking about here. Thus, the cops may figure that in an underground/black market business world like the massage/escorting....etc. someone out there will know what happened and if you put enough pressure on that person(s) then they may talk. It is also good PR for the do-gooders and makes the press happy. It's a no lose situation for them.

Dogman

 

[midLifeCrisis]

"Hey, we have no idea who did this crime, and the chances we'll solve it is nil, so let's go bust some agencies."

How the hell do these two seperate issues even connect? What does a gangland style slaying at an MP have to do with agencies being (quelle shock!) 'fronts for prostitution'?

Chances are someone in the biz knows something about the situation without having been involved - the circumstances of the crime make that a reasonably likely deduction. It doesn't make any sense to make an example of someone unless there are people to be intimidated by that example!

If they keep the heat up for long enough, somebody will decide it's a lot easier to talk than to deal with LE every single day. Or maybe someone will be charged and swap information for light sentencing.

It's the same thing as a strike/lockout situation - everybody's hurting and it's largely a test of wills to see who gives up first.

 

[midLifeCrisis]

This is a small and closed world with which we are talking about here. Thus, the cops may figure that in an underground/black market business world like the massage/escorting....etc. someone out there will know what happened and if you put enough pressure on that person(s) then they may talk.

Hell, Dogman beat me by one minute. If only I hadn't paused to proof-read my post!