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85 location requirements. However, a transfer of a Massage Therapy Establishment License is not <br />86 permitted if any of the following apply: <br />87 o The license to be transferred has received notice of the City’s intention to revoke such <br />88 license <br />89 o The transfer is to be made after May 1, 2028 <br />90 o There already was a transfer of the establishment license after May 1, 2023 <br />91 In effect, the new language allows for only one transfer of a massage therapy establishment in a <br />92 five year period ending on May 1, 2028 as long as revocation action is not being considered for <br />93 the establishment and the new license request meets the requirements for Chapter 309 <br />94 New language in Section 309.07 stipulates that civil remedies at law or adverse licensing actions <br />95 can also be utilized along with filing of misdemeanor charges for violations of Chapter 309 <br />96 <br />97 Overall, the proposed changes to Chapter 309 will provide a better opportunity for the City to address <br />98 criminal activity occurring in establishments such as ignoring licensing requirements, sexual assaults by <br />99 massage therapy establishment employees, and suspected human trafficking. <br />100 <br />101 Combatting human trafficking hasbeen a priority of the Roseville PoliceDepartment(RPD) for the <br />102 past several years. In July 2022, the Roseville Police Department became an affiliate to the Bureau of <br />103 Criminal Apprehension’s Human Trafficking Task Force. The Roseville Police Foundation has also <br />104 helped fund overtime detailsto target human trafficking, including illicit massage businesses operating <br />105 in our community. The partnership and funding have aided RPD in disrupting several cases of human <br />106 trafficking in our community and leading to numerous arrests and criminal charges. <br />107 <br />108 Even with increased awareness and targeted police enforcement, the illicit massage industry continues <br />109 to be pervasive and prevalent across the county. This also holds true inRoseville. Even withRPD’s <br />110 efforts to combatthese businesses in our community, the illicit massage businesses (often hidden in <br />111 plain sight) has continued to thrive. <br />112 <br />113 Human trafficking in illicit massage businesses is complex and changing. These cases can be very <br />114 difficult to investigateand law enforcement and prosecutors oftenstruggle to build solidcases to hold <br />115 the traffickers accountable. Even whenacting on tips andinformation from the community, gaining the <br />116 evidenceor cooperation neededisoften very difficult.Itcan be challenging to gain cooperation from <br />117 individuals patronizing the businesses since often they fear being publically exposed or facing criminal <br />118 chargesfor their involvement. In addition, the brick andmortar storefronts and business licensing <br />119 provide cover for sex buyers who can easily claim they were only seeking legitimate massages. <br />120 <br />121 Getting victims tocooperate is even more challenging due to cultural shame, force, and coercionat the <br />122 hands of the traffickers. Victim’s lives are often entirely controlled by the business owners and they <br />123 have cultural andlanguage barriers, fear of law enforcement, and limited knowledge of their rights and <br />124 support available tothem. <br />125 <br />126 Law enforcement will continue to investigatethese casesand do allwe canto hold the traffickers <br />127 accountable. However, law enforcement cannot do it alone and new regulations are neededto help <br />128 close loopholes and disrupt trafficking operations in our community. <br />129 <br />130 <br />131 P OLICY O BJECTIVE <br />132 Among the City’s Community Aspirations are to ensure that the community is safe and law-abiding. <br />133 As mentioned above, criminal activity can occur at massage therapy establishments if proper <br />Page 3 of 4 <br /> <br />