The recordings show men and Asian massage therapists having sex on massage tables and receiving graphic sex acts inside a South Florida massage parlor. The videos were captured without their consent or knowledge. Sometimes the women are clothed. Sometimes towels strategically cover men lying across tables. Sometimes, the cameras, which are hidden inside ceiling tiles, capture men and women engaging in full intercourse. Each time, the men pay for the sex acts.
As a result of the recording, numerous people were charged with prostitution and the spa was shut down. Sources tell Contact 5 the surveillance video is a few years old, and is not tied to any active cases in South Florida. The video however, illustrates what detectives might witness while executing a "sneak-and-peek" warrant, a legal record which gives investigators permission to install hidden cameras if they meet certain guidelines. Snyder told Contact 5 this was the first time anyone in his agency had executed a sneak-and-peek warrant.
Recently unsealed sneak-and-peek warrants filed in Martin County show detectives hope to use the cameras to captures signs of prostitution and racketeering inside the massage parlors. In total, five agencies participated in the massage parlor bust, each one responsible for spas in their jurisdictions.
According to police, cameras were planted in five of the eight spas investigated. To get permission for a "sneak and peek," detectives must try all other investigative methods first. According to the recently unsealed sneak-and-peek warrants in Martin County, "video surveillance [was] the only option" to further the investigation.
Contact 5 dug found, here in Florida, sneak and peak warrants were granted from October to September , according to the Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Nationally, in the same time period, that number grows to more than 14, However, the data shows only three percent of all granted sneak-and-peek warrants were for sex crimes, compared to the 73 percent of sneak-and-peek warrants granted for drug offenses.
