This story was originally produced by the Concord Monitor. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
Across the state, authorities are cracking down on massage businesses that operate as fronts for human trafficking. But as soon as one illicit operation is shut down, another quietly opens its doors, often in plain sight, draining enforcement agencies of time and resources.
Part of the problem is that while massage therapists are licensed, the businesses themselves are not.
State Rep. Charles Foote of Derry is aiming to change that. He has proposed legislation that would require massage businesses to obtain a license, a move he hopes will give towns more leverage.
“I figured while the iron was hot, I could try to come up with new legislation to try to add another component, another layer of licensing requirements to try to drive out these illicit businesses,” he said.
Currently, the state’s Office of Professional Licensure and Certification oversees individual massage therapists. But because the businesses themselves aren’t regulated, authorities have no ability to monitor for illegal activity or even to inspect them for safety standards, like hygiene and sanitation.
“This is a very chronic, severe international operation,” Foote said. “A majority of women come over here against their will or under the presumption that they’re going to have a better life here in America, when in fact, they come here and they’re essentially held captive and forced to perform these services.”
Since last November, the state Department of Justice, with local and federal agencies, has shut down at least 15 such massage businesses in communities including Concord, Derry, Londonderry, Hudson, Merrimack, Manchester, Dover, Salem and Somersworth.
Those represent about 40% of illicit massage parlors operating in New Hampshire, the Department of Justice estimates.
Enforcement in towns
In some towns, local authorities have taken licensing massage businesses into their own hands.
In Derry, any massage business operating within the town must be licensed by the Derry Health Department.
One licensing requirement is that massage businesses may only operate between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., a rule that aligns with the Department of Justice’s guidelines, which note that illicit massage parlors often operate late at night.
Established in 2023, the ordinance also allows the Derry Health Department, or its agents, to inspect any licensed establishment at any time it is open without prior notice.
Mike Fowler, Derry’s town administrator, said enforcing this has been an “inordinate burden” on the town’s lone full-time health officer, who also oversees food establishments. Still, he said that these measures have been necessary to drive illegal businesses out of the town.
“It’s uncomfortable for the community to have to do a sting or something like that when we have a pretty good idea that the operation or the business is not working fully in a legitimate capacity,” said Fowler.
This year alone, six illicit massage businesses were shut down in Derry, and Fowler said he supports statewide licensing for massage businesses.
“We’ve almost solved our problem here in Derry, but I think there’s a larger concern about the remaining municipalities throughout the state who may or may not have to face the same issues over and over again,” said Fowler. “I think that’s where I think the state can come in and maybe fortify this.”
This isn’t the first time lawmakers have tried to tackle this issue. In 2022, a similar bill with the same objective was introduced in the state House of Representatives, but it failed.
Pamela Keilig, public policy specialist at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said that requiring massage businesses to be licensed is a key preventative strategy.
Not only does licensing help stop illegal operations from taking root in the state, but it also protects massage therapists who might be forced to work in such establishments, she said.
“We really view this as a really important prevention strategy to ensure that traffickers don’t see our state as a safe haven to exploit people and put our communities at risk,” said Keilig. “One of the benefits of having these establishment licenses is ensuring that there are some standard practices being put in place and a structure to hopefully mitigate this Whack-a-Mole phenomenon that we are seeing.”