Bawdy-House Charges Laid in Saskatoon

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Lori Coolican reports for the StarPhoenix, 8 Apr 2010:

 

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Police+shut+down+alleged+brothel/2776656/story.html

Saskatoon police have laid charges against three women in connection with an alleged brothel in the City Park neighbourhood.

The property, located at 504 Queen St. across from City Hospital, is now vacant and available for leasing from a commercial real estate firm.

 

City police on Wednesday were unwilling to say what prompted the investigation that began last December and led to the Feb. 10 arrests.

 

Spokesperson Const. TishaRae Stonehouse said investigators may release more information to the public in the future.

 

According to public records filed in provincial court, 34-year-old Hong Li of Toronto is charged with one count of being an inmate of a "common bawdy house," as well as possession of criminal proceeds in excess of $5,000.

 

Under the Criminal Code of Canada, a common bawdy house is defined as "a place that is kept or occupied, or resorted to by one or more persons for the purpose of prostitution or the practice of acts of indecency."

 

Li was released from custody on conditions that include staying away from the Queen Street address and living with a man at an approved residence in Dundurn. Her next court appearance is scheduled for May 10.

 

The court records show a Mandarin-speaking interpreter has been ordered to assist Li during her court appearances.

 

Facing the criminal proceeds charge alongside Li are 48-year-old Yan Ping Zhang and 34-year-old Gui Ping Ly.

 

Stonehouse said additional charges may also be pending against Zhang and Ly.

 

The alleged former brothel in Saskatoon is the only residential property on its block, sandwiched between a medical office building and a mortgage brokerage.

 

Edmonton police held a press conference two weeks ago to announce a similar bust at a home in a quiet residential area of their city.

 

A hair salon was also raided in connection with that investigation, which was prompted by tips to police from suspicious neighbours.

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CBC News reports, 8 May 2010:

 

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2010/05/08/sk-brothel-search-warrant-1058.html

A Saskatoon judge, concerned about the reputations of 19 men linked to a brothel investigation, has decided to black out portions of the public record on the case.

 

The investigation by Saskatoon police led to charges against three women in February.

 

CBC News tried to look at search warrants associated with the case, but the court refused to release them, although the documents had not been sealed. CBC News had to make a formal application before a judge to access the warrants.

 

On Friday, provincial court judge Barry Singer said he would let the media see the documents, after the names of 19 men listed in the warrants had been blacked out.

 

Singer said he didn't want to release the unaltered material because it contained detailed information about the comings and goings from the Queen Street house.

 

Police had put the building under surveillance and noted licence plate numbers.

 

Singer noted there was no evidence that the vehicles' registered owners were actually the 19 individuals seen entering the house.

 

A government lawyer, Frank Impey, argued against releasing the document, saying officials had made a mistake by not having it sealed. He told reporters after the hearing that the people listed in the search warrant could be harmed by any publicity.

 

"Their reputation could be destroyed by inference," Impey said. "That's the interest we sought to protect."

 

While the court agreed to release a censored document, it was not immediately available. CBC News was told it should be ready in a few days.

 

The police investigation began when an officer followed up on an advertisement on a social networking site. The charges against the three women accused of running a bawdy house are in the early stages of court proceedings.

 

None of the men listed in the warrant have been charged with any offence.

[Guest s******ecan****]

The police investigation began when an officer followed up on an advertisement on a social networking site. The charges against the three women accused of running a bawdy house are in the early stages of court proceedings.

 

None of the men listed in the warrant have been charged with any offence.

 

THis certainly goes against the widespread perception that LE only investigates when they start recieving complaints from neighbours. Though I suppose the nearby business mentioned in the first article might possibly have said something.

 

"The alleged former brothel in Saskatoon is the only residential property on its block, sandwiched between a medical office building and a mortgage brokerage."

 

I would hate to think our local police forces are finding themselves with enough free time to start trolling CL and CERB when we all know there are many more pressing issues for them to be attending too.

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Saskatoon obviously has more money than it knows what to do with to spend that kind of time and effort on investigation that didn't even stem from a complaint.

 

Imagine, a massage parlor selling sexual services - nothing slips by those guys.

[Guest s******ecan****]

Saskatoon obviously has more money than it knows what to do with to spend that kind of time and effort on investigation that didn't even stem from a complaint.

 

Imagine, a massage parlor selling sexual services - nothing slips by those guys.

 

Yep and I'm sure the fact that most of the work involved surfing the net and sitting in cars was a motivating factor in their decision to spend time on this case. Perhaps race a bit of an issue too?

 

Still in the end the fact remains this type of operation is clearly illegal under the criminal code and patrons visit at their own risk.

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Benson McCulloch reports, 17 May 2010:

 

http://www.newstalk650.com/story/20100517/33910

One of the woman charged in connection with an alleged Queen street brothel is pleading not guilty. 34 year old Gui Ping Ly is charged with "being an inmate of a common bawdy house". The massage parlour, where offers of sex-for-money allegedly went down, was right across the street from City Hospital.

 

Two other women are also facing charges but have yet to enter pleas. Ly's trial is set for the end of November.

 

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Betty Ann Adam reports for the StarPhoenix, 30 Nov 2010:

 

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/Woman+pleads+guilty+operating+bawdy+house+Saskatoon/3906268/story.html

A woman who admits operating a brothel on Queen Street in Saskatoon last year has chosen not to challenge the constitutionality of the charge.

 

Gui Ping Ly, 34,

pleaded guilty

Tuesday to one count of

keeping a common bawdy house

. The plea came after considering the length of time it would take for such a court battle, her lawyer Si Halyk told Judge Doug Agnew in provincial court.

 

?She may have pleaded guilty to a charge that will not exist in the future,? Halyk said, referring to a ruling in Ontario superior court in September that found three federal prostitution laws unconstitutional.

 

That ruling is being appealed by the Crown.

 

Ly was given a 12-month conditional discharge with 100 hours of community service and will make a $1,000 donation to AIDS Saskatoon, as proposed in a joint submission by the Crown and defence.

 

She also forfeits more than $5,000 cash, a 2007 Honda Fit, computers and cell phones.

 

Charges of living off the avails of prostitution and possession of proceeds of crime were stayed by the Crown.

 

Halyk said the location of the operation was a factor in the charge even being laid.

 

?On the west side are operations going on for years,? he said. ?She was on the wrong side of town.?

 

Saskatoon police became aware of the operation because of ads in the erotic services section of [CL], said Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo.

 

One of the ads included an address on Queen Street, which had been rented in November 2009 by Ly.

 

Officers watching the house saw numerous men coming and going. They interviewed several of the men who admitted they had been offered sexual intercourse in exchange for $200. Some denied accepting the offer while others admitted participating.

 

An undercover officer went into the house twice, where he arranged a sex-for-money deal with Ly and with one of her two female co-accused. When he said he didn?t have cash with him the women directed him to the nearest automated teller machine across the street in City Hospital.

 

On Feb. 10, 2010, police executed a search warrant where they seized jars of condoms, sexual lubricant, computers, cell phones, cash and the Honda.

 

They also arrested Ly, Hong Li and Yan Ping Zhang.

 

Li, 36, pleaded guilty in August to being an inmate of a bawdy house. She received a conditional discharge with one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.

While on probation she is prohibited from working as a masseuse unless she is licensed by the province in which she works.

 

Zhang?s case remains before the court. She is scheduled for trial in April.

 

Officers watching the house had also seen Ly?s husband and baby, Fillo said.

 

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Lori Coolican reports for the StarPhoenix, 30 Nov 2010:

 

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/opinion/Woman+sentenced+role+brothel/4695679/story.html

 

The last of three women who were arrested when Saskatoon city police shut down a Queen Street brothel last winter pleaded guilty to a prostitution-related charge Thursday.

 

Yan Ping Zhang, 49, already had a prior criminal record for keeping a common bawdy house in Ontario in 2007, a provincial court judge heard during her sentencing hearing.

 

In exchange for her plea to a charge of being an inmate of a bawdy house, the Crown stayed an additional count of possessing proceeds of crime.

 

Judge Donna Scott accepted a joint submission from the Crown and Zhang's lawyer, imposing a one-year suspended sentence.

 

Zhang will be on probation during that time, with conditions that she complete 100 hours of community service, not work in the massage industry without a licence and have no contact with the two other women who operated the brothel.

 

Zhang, who is unemployed and lives in Toronto, worked as an accountant in Beijing, China, before immigrating to Canada in 2000, court heard.

 

She has Canadian citizenship and understands English well, but is not comfortable speaking it and spends much of her time in a part of Toronto where her first language is commonly used, defence lawyer Cathy Bohachik said.

 

Zhang visited Saskatoon at the invitation of two of her friends - Gui Ping Ly, 34, and Hong Li, 36 - after they moved to the city and set up the brothel in a rented business property across the street from City Hospital in late 2009, court heard.

 

It was disguised as a massage therapy business. City police became aware of the operation through "erotic services" ads on the Internet and placed it under surveillance.

 

An undercover officer subsequently went inside, where Zhang led him to a room with a massage table and asked him if he wanted anything "extra," Crown prosecutor Sheryl Fillo said.

 

They negotiated a price - $200 for sex - and Zhang gave him directions to the nearest cash machine. The officer left and did not return.

 

Investigators then obtained a warrant and searched the property on Feb. 10, 2010, seizing jars of condoms, lubricants, computers, cellphones and about $10,000 in cash. All three women were arrested the same day.

 

Fillo said it appeared the women had been living at the property in violation of the business lease.

 

Li pleaded guilty last August to being an inmate of a bawdy house, receiving a conditional discharge with one year of probation and 50 hours of community service.

 

Ly pleaded guilty last December to keeping a bawdy house and also received a conditional discharge with one year of probation. She was ordered to serve 100 hours of community service and donate $1,000 to AIDS Saskatoon. She also forfeited more than $5,000 in proceeds from the brothel, as well as a car.

 

A conditional discharge will allow Li and Ly to avoid a criminal record for their convictions if they abide by the terms of their sentences.

 

Zhang's sentence is slightly different because of her prior record, court heard. She also forfeited about $4,700 in proceeds as well as a computer and cellphone.