Toronto

Massage parlour busted in residential building

Toronto police shut down a massage parlour operating out of a residential building at Sheppard Avenue East and Kennedy Road on Thursday, but admit there are "hundreds" of others operating in the area.

CBC cameras were there as police moved in on the Lotus Flower Spa and charged the owner with operating a bawdy house.

Police seized surveillance equipment, massage tables, lotions, even a washer and dryer from the location.

Police led a woman out of the store in handcuffs and neighbours told CBC News they are elated to see the spa shut down.

Neighours say the spa had been operating for years and attracted an undesirable clientele. About a year ago, police shut down several illegal massage parlours at a residential highrise across the street.

'It's about time'

"It's about time it's been shut down," said Laura Stanton, who has lived in the neighbourhood for three years. "It’s been here quite a while and it's not acceptable. I've seen male callers going there and having to ring to go in."

Marian Lorenz has lived in the building for 26 years and said she’s "delighted" the spa has been shut down.

"We have monitored the clientele," she told CBC News. "You don't see a woman going into that spa ever. I've had a client to come to my door looking how to find it. This building is family occupied.

"I don't care if these spas go up in like mushrooms in strip malls, but they should definitely not be operating in a residential building.

Toronto Police Sgt. Keith Bryan said there are "hundreds" of such spas operating in 42 Division alone but said this one was targeted in response to the volume of complaints it generated and its location in a residential building.

"A lot of them happen to be in plazas," said Bryan. "This happens to be in a condo where there's children that go to school and walk by every day. We try to go around and shut them down as often as we can. We go in and charge them under the bylaw but after we leave, they turn around and open up again."

Bryan said police have started to charge building owners under the Civil Remedies Act, which makes property owners responsible for what goes on in their buildings.

Stanton is just happy to know there won’t be strange men showing up at the building.

"I was waiting for so long for this to happen," she said. "I was shocked that it could go on for this long. I'm really happy now."