A group of women accused of working as prostitutes at a South Whitehall Township massage parlor appeared in court Thursday. The six employees from Aries Spa, all of whom are from out of state and free on bail, were in District Judge Jacob Hammond's court for their preliminary hearings on charges of promoting prostitution. The now-shuttered spa was visible across Hamilton Boulevard from the district court. All the women waived their hearings, sending the charges to Lehigh County Court.
They used a Korean interpreter during the court proceedings, but both a Chinese and Korean interpreter were requested for the hearings. The women were all represented by one attorney, James Katz, who before the hearing could be heard saying five of the women will try for a first-time offenders program.
The sixth woman would not qualify for the program because of her prior record, Katz said. The women were arrested during a raid in January at the business at Hamilton Blvd.
Authorities say five worked as "masseuses" and Pun Son Hutcheson was the manager. The five employees are each charged with two counts of promoting prostitution:. Aries Spa was reviewed on websites such as spahunters. The reviews included customers' descriptions of the sexual favors they'd received at the massage parlor, records say.
In online reviews, Hutcheson is referred to as "big mama. A more recent review on one of the webpages reports that the business is closed, and there are comments from disappointed customers. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. Published: Feb. By Sarah Cassi For lehighvalleylive.
