NEW ULM – A massage business, operated by a 52-year-old New Ulm woman facing a charge of gross misdemeanor prostitution in a public place, remains open in downtown New Ulm.

Yanping Wang was charged Wednesday in Brown County District Court. Her initial court appearance was set for 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 3. Maximum penalty for the charge is a year in jail, a $3,000 fine or both.

A neon “open” sign remains in a front window of the business, Day Therapy Massage, at 5 S. Minnesota St. A front exterior door was open Wednesday morning, but an interior door was locked. It was not known if anyone was in the business at the time.

A woman answered a business telephone call Wednesday morning. “One hour, sixty dollar. You want massage?” the woman said. She did not answer any questions about the court charges or say anything else.

New Ulm Police Department Senior Investigator Jeff Hohensee said he was not sure how long Wang has lived in New Ulm, how long she has been in business or any other background information about her other than that it appeared she was in business alone.

According to a statement of probable cause in the charge, New Ulm Police became aware in January 2016 of a website on which customers of massage businesses review the businesses and their experiences.

One of the reviews described “a very good massage with much more touching” in New Ulm. The review indicated the customer received manual stimulation from a female at a business that was located at 5 Minnesota St. South between Subway and a law office.

On March 28, an undercover officer, over the age of 18, equipped with an electrical listening device and $200 in pre-recorded bills, entered Day Therapy Massage where he met a woman later identified as Yanping Wang.

In a massage room, the officer noticed a condom in a wrapper under the massage table. The officer received a 60-minute massage from Wang and paid $60 plus a $20 tip. He asked if there were any other services for “extra.” According to the report, Wang patted his crotch and told him next time for a $40 tip, he would receive extra.

On March 30, 2016, the officer returned to the business, again wearing a wire and carrying $160 in pre-recorded bills and an unused condom. The officer went into the business, gave Wang $100 and asked for a 60-minute massage. He produced the condom, and asked her if the extra $40 meant he could have sex with her.

Wang said no to the sex, but gestured with her hand to represent manual stimulation of his genitals and said he would receive that. The undercover officer gave the arrest signal, law enforcement arrived and arrested Wang without incident.

Wang was taken to the Brown County Jail to be booked and interviewed. Police received a search warrant for the massage business from Judge Krehbiel.

Items removed from the business during the search included a lap top computer, a Samsung flip phone, an Apple I phone, a used condom, a condom wrapper and $482 cash.

Police interviewed Wang with the help of an interpreter. She denied any prostitution charges and said she did not do any type of prostitution act.

Hohensee said no massage business clients are being charged at this time.

“I want everyone to know that children and women in Minnesota are not for sale, and we will continue to do these stings that were done in New Ulm, St. Peter and Mankato last fall,” Hohensee said. “My hope is at some point, there is no demand, no calls for these services.”

New Ulm Police Commander Dave Borchert said police were tipped by several individuals about the possibility of prostitution going on at the downtown business, which led to a consultation with area law enforcement, who agreed to do the investigation.

“The Minnesota Women’s Foundation is taking assertive action on investigating these matters,” Borchert said. “There is more prostitution going on around here than many people feel comfortable with in a small community. We continue to investigate leads. This is really not a new thing, but after area law enforcement got state training, there is more focus on it here now.”

The City of New Ulm and Brown-Nicollet Department of Environmental Health said there are no business license requirements for such a business. A check with the Minnesota Department of Health indicated that any massage business licenses would be issued at the city and county level.

(Fritz Busch can be e-mailed at fbusch@nujournal.com).