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WEST JORDAN — A Murray massage parlor owner will spend at least three years on probation and pay a $7,500 fine after admitting to exploiting prostitution.
Baomei Sun, 50, pleaded guilty on Feb. 1 to exploiting prostitution and a pattern of unlawful activity, a third-degree felonies. As a result of the plea, a charge for money laundering, a second-degree felony, and another charge for exploiting prostitution, were dismissed.
She was sentenced on April 25 to three years of probation.
In a separate case, Sun pleaded guilty to exploiting prostitution, as a class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced on the same date to two years of probation.
Initially she was charged in that case with two counts of exploiting prostitution, a third-degree felony, but one was dismissed and the other downgraded as part of a plea deal.
In addition to probation, Sun was ordered to complete 15 hours of community service each week until being hired for a full-time job. She was also ordered to not own, operate or work in a massage parlor or similar business.
Sun was initially sentenced to up to five years in prison for the third-degree felony charges, and one year in jail for the class A misdemeanor, but those sentences were suspended if she successfully completes probation.
She has already served 123 days in jail.
Sun was the registered agent at Asian Massage, 58 W. 2700 South, in South Salt Lake, and Asian Center Massage, in Taylorsville, according to charging documents.
Charges say federal agents did surveillance on these businesses and her home.
"Baomei Sun was seen driving multiple Asian females from her residence and dropping them off at the two massage parlor locations. Baomei Sun was also seen picking up the Asian females from the two parlor locations and returning them to her residence," the charges say.
Agents conducted undercover operations after Sun's initial charges were filed but while she was on pretrial release. Both times, the person giving the massage offered sexual acts in exchange for money, charges say.
