ABOUT US

HEATHER

Heather was born in Dae-Jun Korea. The oldest of five children, she became the primary bread winner of the family at age 23 when her North Korean born father died of cancer. She worked in the spa industry in Korea, before moving to the US. She married Chris on 9/11. She opened a spa in August of 2005 in Providence, RI.

CHRIS

Chris was a frequent customer of the Rhode Island spas for years, and dated most of the owners. He is married to Heather. He is a man who speaks mostly in "bottom lines" and doesn't mince words.


CICILLINE

David N. Cicilline is the current Mayor of Providence, Rhode Island. He is the first openly gay mayor of a US state capital. He took on the task of closing the massage parlors after Danielle attempted to open a spa in the affluent East Side "Fox Point" neighborhood.

DANIELLE

Danielle was born in Chicago. She has worked in the spa business over 10 years. She is divorced with a son.


JEN

Jen was born in Korea. She met an American service man in Korea and married. She moved to the US, had two sons, and divorced. She has worked in the spas for over 10 years.

VICE

Greg, Providence Police Vice has been with the police for over 17 years. He has been in the vice division 8 years. He reports that he started seeing spas in the Providence area around 2001.


PERRY

Senator Rhode E. Perry was elected to her seat November 6th, 1990, and is currently serving her 9th term in the Rhode Island General Assembly. Although she is the first to bring a bill to the floor, she will not support a prostitution bill to close the loophole. She supports a bill to stop human trafficking...

BROWN

Steven Brown is the executive director of the RI ACLU. Believing laws already exist against the conditions the papers and news report, Mr. Brown and the ACLU testify against both the prostitution and the human traficking laws.


GIANNINI

Representative Joanne M. Giannini was elected to her seat November 8th 1994 and is currently serving her 8th term in the Rhode Island General Assembly. She is a life long resident of Providence, RI. She brings both the Human Trafficking bill and the prostitution bill to the floor.

HUGHES

Donna M. Hughes is the Carlson endowed chair of Woman Studies and the University of Rhode Island. Ms. Hughes does research and writing on trafficking, sexual exploitation, violence against women, women's organized resistance to violenceto violence, and religious fundamentalism and women's rights. She has testified before the US House International Relations Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Moscow Duma, and the Czech Parliament.


HALL

Ginny Hall is an Account Executive at the Providence Phoenix for the past 9 years. She goes to the spas weekly to pick up the cash to pay for advertisements in the adult sections in the paper.